The 120k does not include a 30k bonus at the beginning of the year, so hopefully that should allow me to buy a SFR in the 950k range?

Any market appreciation is a bonus in my mind.

Two of these three complexes are currently offering various bonuses for new tenants, up to and including 8 free weeks.)

This is actually exactly why I got my license in the first place because I thought it would benefit my investing career and to be totally honest if you don’t want to be a realtor full time and just want it to be a bonus to your investments it’s not worth it.

I like to mitigate unknowns as much as possible, if appreciation happens then that's a bonus.

An added bonus is that I am not overly tired writing an offer at say 8 pm which in turn lowers my chance of missing an important detail or being able to source the information I need from a lender or a lawyer. 

This does not count bonuses we receive at work, just our flat salaries.I am new to REI and looking to make the plunge with my first rental property.

Bonus- my zillow, fb and CL searches will hit when they are still FSBO. 

MCL no not require SST as mentioned, will assist with downpayment assistance, as well as a huge bonus that PMI will automatically drop at 20% equity gain without having to refi.

added bonus to this is you can do it again using the HELOC.In your case when borrowing the down payment you need to calculate the HELOC payment (and assume it will be going up) along with the mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance etc to make sure it is still a good deal with an acceptable return for you.