When the appraisal is done, it will also show fair market rents for the units, the lender will compare these to your lease amounts, but wont really do anything other than compare?

First step is look at comparable properties that are in prime condition and see what they sell for.

@Ken Yeung I would definetly look at what rental rates are for your home, make sure you compare apples to apples if it is a 3/1 or 3/2 etc. 

@Jeremy Zwicker: I like the Antigonish market as well , most are certainly cashflow plays as there is little to no appreciation there, however, if the property is well situated and you provide a nice living space, you will have very low vacancy due to the high demand for off campus student housing and rents are comparable to the HRM.

I have a work "home" in Seattle and spend most of the week in the Pacific Northwest but have traveled most of the US for work over the last 6-7 years or so.There are positives to each place so it is hard to compare. 

I know with this being your first rental, the idea of vacancy is scary, but please trust me; a month of vacancy while you wait for a great tenant is going to save you thousands of dollars, hundreds of hours and immeasurable amounts of stress compared to what will happen if you pull the trigger on a questionable tenant because you are eager.

you need to check with each state.. but generally anything that is commercial purpose no license needed except for about 12 states in the US were an NMLS registration and state licesne is required.off the top of my head states that require licenses areOR  NV  SD  CA TN  and I think Minnisota  and there are a few more.. check your state.. usually you can just look on a big local HML website if you see NMLS registration and state license then your probably going to need one.However bottom line is to check with the state .. and or an attorney who specializes in this.

@Michael Le Don't think the market is big enough, less capital appreciation potential (compared to other options), renovated rent premium being lower than other markets. 

Aaron McCarty if you look at the formulas/metrics in isolation then the numbers don’t mean much.The formulas/numbers is all relative, especially as everyone/business has different goals and risk tolerance.Compare the results to the alternative, example: compare the historical stock market return on blue chips to an A class area.

I've also found a few comparable rents on Craigslist that say I should be able to get about $700-$775/month for each unit.