I find this a non issues in the areas I focus (north side) as the tenants are great credit/income and its very rare to have an eviction I have personally never seen one and my brokerage manages/leases many units on the north side.

I've flipped 20 lots between those 2 areas in 2020 alone and inventory rarely lasts more than 30 days once I list on MLS.

My standard underwriting is 15% combined for Repairs and CapEx, @Scott Benson.

Combined their gross income is 3.6x rent. 1 great credit score (mid-lower 700), 1 mid (Mid 600 no credit history), 1 bad credit score (mid 500, balances owing on closed accts but no collections no open accounts.)

The lender said they would combine the 2 currently mortgaged properties into 1 loan.

I'm aware that banks deem HELOCs on investment properties as higher risk and so rarely offer them.

And yes, you are correct that in Holland the language barrier is rarely if ever an issue, which makes life a lot easier.

Unless you are a single person, or a couple, using a single room and renting out a number of rooms in your house, it is rare to cash flow. 

Maybe you can combine that with a live-in BRRRR where you create some value and get to that 20% much sooner. 

In my experience, tenants rarely hold up their end of the bargain when it comes to routine maintenance.