My wife and I are looking to step into the life changing life style of buying our first rental house.

Hopefully rents will continue to catch up and help the rent/price ratios get back to normal in a lot of the neighborhoods, but we will see how it plays out. 

Luckily natural gas pipes are normally iron, so not worth stealing.No lender will fund a residential loan on a home without all of the major systems working, but you should be able to fund it with an FHA 203K renovation loan. 

At the end of the day, the security deposit has been collected to cover any damages at the end of their lease (outside of normal wear & tear) & they shouldn't be forced to pay a pet fee is there is no pet. 

Ryan,I have clients in similar situations were the part of the property is in the flood zone that would normally require flood insurance (A or V zone) but the structure is outside of that zone. 

Also I prefer multifamily because it's easier to find cash flow which is generally more appealing to young guys like you and I, since it can fund your lifestyle and also make it easier to qualify for your next loan.

It's normal to be nervous about this especially if its your first purchase-even after your first purchase.

I would remind prospective investors that -- though these returns are "normal" these days, they are not normal overall. 

Redeploy capital into the stock market, real estate syndications, lifestyle, etc. 

Hi @Katrina CabralI'm not an expert in this, but I think you would need to try and negotiate with the 'Fee' owner what the price of purchasing the fee would be - like a normal transaction.