In any business it is important to be credible.

Excellent advice Account Closed !  

I suspect his volunteering is partially motivated because I told him when he moved in at the beginning of this year that I'm inclined to reward excellent tenants with a rent rebate around the holidays (e.g. half off december's rent).

House is in excellent shape and needs, at most, interior paint.

If you would like to give some context as to the factors that you look at in priority order (more important factors vs. less important factors) that would be a value added conversation as well.Additionally if you would like to provide some flavor as to what kind of ranges you are seeing regarding re-performing 2nds and the factors that influence your buying decision, that would be excellent as well. 

This is an excellent question for your CPA.

., and then only send him/her those deals that at least come close to their criteria.7) Do set up a time to talk to a potential buyer rather than calling him/her out of the blue.8) Understand that building trust and credibility is your most important currency, not any one particular deal.I'm sure that there are many that I missed.

I know this an excellent deal, but my concern is locking up much more money than I originally anticipated which will severely push back the timeline to purchase my own home and it doesn’t give me the ability to scale/capitalize on future opportunities when they come up. 

It’s an excellent place to start, and can answer many of your questions.

Hi Shawn,  Your question attracted some very credible folks comments (all against).I've seen student houseing, rent a bedroom by the week ventures work.