Even when you exclude the ones who are simply renting out their own spaces - second homes, pre-existing ADUs, spare bedrooms, or their RVs, the number of people that started with less than we have is likely still significant.

So, keep in mind what a good tenant expects in your area.For example, if you have an existing GAS furnace and central air conditioning already a simple replacement of the gas furnace gets people what is likely to be an economical heat source while also providing a/c which many rentals don't have.

whereas most people do not respect utilities that they do not have to pay for the utility bill could get expensive in my opinion.

It’s hard to do for paycheck to paycheck people.  

As long as you are approaching people in a respectful way that you feel good about you can't help how people will respond sometimes.

Go to meetup.com and search real estate for these meetups to link up with people that know your local market and that are doing it! 

There are many homes in areas outside of Claremont that are selling for $500k to $650k Many of the people we know are buying homes like this one with a construction loan for the ADU ($100k) and buying a home for $700k + $100k : $800k total at 5% down payment and ending with a total payment (PITI) of $6k minus $2k rents from ADU Total new payment of $4k which is easier to make and once interest come down some, they will refinance to drop their payment to $3k to $3,500 per month. 

@Pauline Sabado B-ham has seen population decline, but people I know there advise looking outside the city proper.

I have seen many people miss out on good deals because they are so caught up on making numbers work to their liking…when at the end of the day, they are just projections and estimate and will never be exact.

A lot of people don't have a whole lot of interest in living in constant fixer-uppers, so you have to have the right mentality for that.A variation on it, if you want to live in better homes that aren't great rentals, is to, again, buy homes that are under market because they need some work, do the work, live there 2 years then sell for a profit and keep all of your capital gains.