As for the quality, it depends on company. 

Wife and I have high credit score and we are high income earners (her W-2 & 1099 for me). 

The sky is not falling, but I agree if your carrying costs are high and owners did not budget earnings from last year to cover costs of the first slower months (Jan-May) then they are hurting. 

Standalone brick and mortars like compass are the ones that are burning through money and taking it from the agent and customer it is very hard for compass to survive in those environment, as company like as big as amazon or apple move to hybrid work environment, the compass failed to grasp the spirit hence their transaction cost is so high.

Rates were low in 2018, sales prices were reasonable, and rents were high, so the numbers worked in our favor.

The music hasn't yet started again - high rates, low inventory,  high prices and seller expectations. 

If I wanted to do high stakes gambling I would go to Vegas and get free drinks not pay so gurus to blow smoke.

It depends on your financial strength, the quality of the property, how many properties you own, etc.I like to start with one significant expense and three months of vacancy.

Selecting areas: Look for neighborhoods with high growth potential, amenities, and public transit when choosing places for house hacking, especially in big cities like NYC.

So just make sure that when you do have the convo (I do think that is a very high split for that person), you need to be diplomatic and realize that they may take offense to it or not want to reduce their split at all.