I was lucky enough with low interest rates to do that, but that's unlikely the case in this environment. 

20% is true the minimum for DSCR, but its also pretty prudent to put down at least that much in today's environment and be careful not to overleverage

You might want to think about getting in tax-free environments such as Roth IRAs and whole life insurance with cash value policies instead of tax-deferred 401ks.

The only way I would buy in this environment is full cash purchase

The political environment is a bigger risk to landlords, but Minneapolis has shown restraint, and the demand for rentals in Minneapolis is such that it will take a very long time of declining population before a small landlord who cares would have a problem.

In fact, mortgage applications are at their lowest level in nearly 30 years.Not only has this interest rate environment cooled buyer demand, it has also applied downward pressure on home sales volume.

Maybe I'm naive but these are the type of environment I come from personally.

Its the total environment that is the challenge.Plus in analyzing some properties in this asset class 3 factors alone can make or break success of a property.

I was looking to stay away from a DSCR (if possible) only because I will get a better rate on a conventional 30 year and need the lowest rate as possible considering cash flow will be fairly tight in this current economic environment.

As far as the impact on the environment and reliability, EVs win, hands down.