Your tenant request to trade work for rent is a clear indication they will not be able to afford rent and you will definatly need to get rid of them.

We’re trying to purchase for less than 300K for our first property because we want to make sure we can afford the vacancy costs.

I took a class based in Baltimore and the properties were more affordable.

That will give you an idea of what rental rates are.2- It's more affordable to buy on the west side of I15 but you also have lower rental rates over there. 

I'm getting frustrated.

After 2 years of being frustrated, we ended up going the Solo 401(k) route, but that may not be an option for folks, in which case the checkbook IRA serves similar purpose - putting you in control of the paperwork and payments.

Great way to get in at an affordable rate and create sweat equity that you can leverage for your next investment! 

Despite tight housing inventory, rising interest rates, and affordability challenges, Austin posted double-digit increases in both single-family home sales (up 13.5% YOY) and sales dollar volume (up 19.8% YOY).

I’m getting slightly frustrated because I’m used to the vacant units being filled so much quicker.Thanks,Tim

Just thought I'd mention this because I see a lot of frustration with rental investors using hard money because rental investors look at cashflow whereas hard money looks at ARV; the differing goals/objectives can cause some misunderstandings.The other thing is to make sure you ask about prepayment penalties.