You may want to find a market with at least three forms of industry.

I charged 10-15% higher than what I would have gotten on a regular tenant as well as them taking utilities and furnishing (like a normal tenant would).

Here are some preliminary numbers I ran: 260K FHA no repairs and current rents on left, 300K 203K, reno and higher rents on right: % Down Payment 5.00% 5.00% Down Payment $13,000 $15,000 Remainder of closing costs $3,000.00 $3,000.00 Total Due at Signing $16,000 $18,000            Mortgage Rate 4.60% 4.60% Length of Mortgage in years 30 30 Monthly Mortgage payment $1,266.00 $1,461.00 Taxes $386.00 $445.00 Sewer and Water $50.00 $50.00 Trash $50.00 $50.00 Heat/Utilities $ - $ - PMI $ 180.00 $ 208.00 Cap Ex and Ops $200.00 $200.00 Insurance $65.00 $75.00 Mgmt Fee $165.00 $165.00 Vacancy $132.00 $132.00 Total Expenses $2,494.00 $2,786.00     Unit 1 $500.00 $700.00 Unit 2 $900.00 $1,100.00     Total Revenue $1,400.00 $1,800.00     Cashflow/month ($1,094.00) ($986.00) Cashflow/year ($13,128.00) ($11,832.00) Cash on Cash Return -8.42% -6.57% I have not talked with the seller in detail yet, as I want to see if this is worth a deeper dive first. 

As long as you are in the same industry then the 6 month rule applies.

*****I DONT THINK SO - MEDICAID Is going to ask where the house went - maybe they dont catch it right away but they will - *** family didnt appear to do any estate planning - they will need to spend that money on her careThe way I can put it if the family is wanting to get out of paying - and they think spending $3-6k or whatever amount is needed for her care is too much then they need to factor in 24/7 care at $12/hr + 15% for taxes, food, utilities, rent, insurance, outside upkeep, maintenance etc and add that up for a month and they will see what a bargain ALF can be

Pretty sure you cannot write off utilities and insurance since it is your residence (you could if it were a true flip).

I am hard-wired for a career in this industry. 

All i could say is first need to do your research, you need to know the market status on your area, trends, and also if you could utilize the power of internet, like make an announcement on facebook or just create a website, forthomebuyers is doing the same thing and they focus their market on Texas.

He still has utilities, student loans (probably), car payment, etc.

This allows you to turn one property into potentially 5 by only utilizing 20% as a down payment on the property of your current cash as an example.