That gives me enough for the down payment and bank funded work needed.

Specifically: skipping RLMO, having a balloon payment, and prepayment penalties.

First Time home buyer program and received a grant for the down payment.

It is a possibility that my Mother would at this stage gift me the down payment to take on a second primary residence loan but we are still discussing. 

The way Avery Carl (the author) and the podcast guests describe it, managing an STR seems quite straightforward, though I'm aware it requires significant effort to be successful.My plan is to purchase a property for under $400k, make a 10% down payment, and self-manage it as an STR.Living in San Diego, and given the real estate prices in Southern California, finding a profitable STR locally seems challenging.

If you are the buyer, payment is YOUR responsibility regardless of whether the seller provides the funds to pay your agent or not.With all that said, the real estate agent is providing a service for you that MAY net you more cash in the long run.

Look on zillow and see how long houses are listed before renting (but be aware that zillow often doesn't know a place has been rented so their numbers can be biased long).If she has been a good tenant and paid reliably then I might offer to split the difference and go up just $100.

So essentially, if you use that loan product, you wont have to worry about "using up" your low down payment loan quota.

For example, if you want credit scores above 600 but you accept a 580 once, you can never in the future decline someone with a credit score between 580 and 600.The gray areas…I like a credit score above 600, I like my tenants not to have bankruptcyI like my tenants not to have a lot of debt (such that payments impact the Gross = 3X number)I like my tenants to have a history of paying on time Here is a scenario:  Tenant “X” gets past all the instant declines.

While most people thought banks prioritized foreclosing on houses that had not made their mortgage payments in months, banks actually prioritized homes that had a lot of equity.