Hi All, I'm looking at a duplex in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex area; the seller has just counter offered with an addendum for reservation of the potential oil, gas and mineral reserves of the property.

Anyways I seen one of my drywall side guys at the gas station.

Has a small unrenovated 1 bedroom in upstairs rear, rented for $900/month (tenant pays own gas and electric), wonderful stable tenant.)   

I already have plans to separate gas and electric.

They will look at your expenses- college tuition , insurance, food, car, gas, etc to see if you qualify for a mortgage.Also- one option is to get added to your paretns credit card if they have had it s along time with good credit- this will boost your score. 

Although I'm not speaking from experience (I was in oil and gas in 2008), if your leverage had been in apartment complexes would you have had as many problems getting tenants to pay?

The Village where the building is has now sought a demolition order for the building due to; smoke alarms, improper boiler venting, leaking gas lines to stoves, and leaking roofs over the front and rear entrances.

Utility collections go hand-in-hand with that, if they don't pay their lights/gas, their home expense isn't top priority (over say, a cell phone payment or cable), so you can expect rent won't be top priority above all else.I rent mostly in low-c areas to immigrant populations, so my tenants don't always have social security numbers and credit scores.

But there are restaurants around the factory, a Seven-Eleven, a drug store, a Dollar General and a gas station. 

Just like food, water, cars, gas, etc. etc.