As far as the rent, I am familiar with the rent in this market and I'm confident I would at minimum be able to get $550/unit, plus the additional income the detached garage will generate as a storage unit.Thank you for your feedback, and I will keep you updated on the outcome!

Ideally I would have this as "my" business so as to show my own income for financing purposes but without an income to show to get started, I'm wondering what the best way to structure finance is so I can begin showing the rental income as my income going forward.

As far as benchmarks go, the group I work with, Sage Investment Group, looks for a 15% IRR, 2.5x multiple, and 12-15% Cash-on-cash return.

Reason for this is so the person not on the mortgage and title can take advantage of the first time home buyer benefits in the future.

The more I learn about real estate investing, it seems like it is a "better" investment than the stock market as far as retirement goes.

I realize this may not be the case with you and your agent, just saying it happens.A little explanation about the terms:The 'refuses or fails' is so the agent doesn't shafted if they work hard for you for months and then you buy a FSBO with no buyer agent commission offered. 

I can't find anyone who is serious and my house is so bad it needs a general contractor to finish it out.  

.]-- As far as utilities go, the detached garage already has a separate panel and I've had an electrician out saying it's plenty of juice for what I'm trying to do (sorry, don't remember the technical details).

Market research is so important because not all sellers enjoy the small talk.

My issue is that im having a hard time finding comparables because the house is so unique.