Makes the number work great if your a buy and hold looking for CASH FLOW.Bottom line, put 20% down and buy with no less than the 1% rule.  

You would need short term financing for the build or the builder will have to for the entire bill until he gets the certificate of occupancy, at which time you could apply for financing.

did i applied thx  well see.

An individual from Texas who is moving here has applied, and I approved them. 

The 1% rule seems to apply still. 

(Without management fees it would look far better... but I’m out of state.)Is there a rule of thumb I can trot out to evaluate investments on a debt to monthly cash flow ratio.

Pleasant have different rules (no owner/occupants which violates their multi-family ordinance). 

What is a a good "rule of thumb" profit margin to shoot for when renting? 

I’m analyzing a property and it’s at a 1.6 rule or cash flowing at 170 if using the 50 % rule, but diving deeper it says it has a negative cash flow of 500 a month.

As for the sec deposit, follow MO rules, which allow for you to deduct unpaid rent from the deposit.