The buyers agent just notified me that the buyer is backing out now because he was using his 401k money to retire with and now that he has lost 35-40% he is not comfortable moving to a new location and buying a house.

Biggest consideration will be finding a quad in a C neighborhood that passes the “am I comfortable moving my family here” test.

Also recommend driving through the neighborhoods to get a feel for what you are comfortable with.

But ultimately it comes down to what you're comfortable with.

If my first tenant is a female and she doesn’t feel comfortable with having other male house mates, am I allowed to rent and advertise to just females only?

If you are asked to take off your shoes, add $1000.

Any tips/tricks for someone in my shoes?

Hello fellow investorsTalk about getting out of your comfort zone!!

You want an agent who will read the HOA budgets and meeting minutes and who feels comfortable making calls to the management company and HOA board members to get the lay of the land.

The mortgage payments are a source of stress only if you are not making enough money on the property; if you are, then it should be relatively comfortable taking care of that obligation.