Usually you want to stay under 40% debt-to-income but I see loans at 45% get approved all the time given they have compensating factors.

Like any manager, got to stay on top of them, but I use them for my rental in Benton, and have even done maintenance for them and they are good.

It would stay in his name until you've exercised the option to buy at the end of your agreement.

Congrats Jodi,Sounds like you got a deal and times it right Hillary ,I’ve been listening ok’ing at flood deals for a while now , from the deals that came my way the wholesalers are looking for 60-50% of the ARV , that doesn’t leave you much room for error , market correction or stigma of a flood home even in a good area .Take off 10% for commissions, legal  & closing on sale , you are looking at best a 12/20% return on investment .Now imagine if the mold situation comes or contractor goes over budget , you may be stuck holding a wet bag If your plan is a rental than at least you have a plan B in place For the best upside of 20% I’d stay clear Of course if you can purchase at 35/45 From ARV that may be worth considering IMO the Flooded homes are going to be in the market for a while - based on the fact many owners are just hanging on and not paying mortgages .

And so at the end of the one-year lease if the tenant moves out can a dude who slept on the couch for two weeks decide he wants to stay?

@Jacob LePretre   Send me a colleague request and lets stay in touch.

I currently live with my parents and they are moving to Atlanta soon but I wanted to stay here in Boston.

We live in Canada (he’s US military) so he can’t live there (although if we get a multi family like we want, I may stay in one unit and go to back to school).

If not -- and because everyone needs a place to stay -- a good first buy is a home for yourself.

It's also important to stay up with your area's job market as well.