One thing to keep in mind with RE  (especially with the appreciation around here,  and hot market around tacoma)  is that time can turn a bad deal into a good one.Even if you are negative on monthly cash flow now  (occupying one unit)  you are $1250 a month less negative than if you had an owner occupied SFR with the same monthly costs,  and you are getting some tax benefits.    

He signed his 1031 papers about 6 months ago and then went to TX for a motorcycle rally, Oshkosh for the air show, Paris for a d day re-enactment, Memphis for some blues festival, Key West just cause he could and is now slowly working his way back to Maine so he can put some work in on his vacation rental during the summer. 

And she told me how hot the local RE market is in Boise, with everything going up every day...Well, for those of us in the Bay Area, RE price peaked in 2018, and has been dropping 10% ish since....

You just need to make sure you not only have enough money for the 3.5% downpayment for an FHA loan, but also some money in reserves in case something goes such as a hot water tank or other issue. 

With Vegas being a hot market and owning nice units in nice areas, they don't last too long once vacant.

One even has an inflatable hot tub in it.

These are some of the other items that need to be budgeted for roof 25 year life span, appliances and hot water heater 12 year life span, hvac 20 year life span, bath and kitchen remodel 15-20 year life span, etc.

if it's expensive hard or private money refinancing as soon as possible might be your best chance to wait it out. you could also do short term rental like an air bnb if your locality allows it, this will allow you some income while also being able to show it still and you'll have the extra benefit of it being "staged" which might help in selling it.

"Home needs cosmetic make-ready, new roof and hot water tank.

I live in a pretty hot market so I always look for off market potentials via direct marketing.In the past 2 years I have had an every 6-8 week marketing campaign for some SFHs that ultimately went to other investors.