I have a friend who is an agent that is looking to assume my VA loan and buy the house off market, so that I can avoid paying fees and commissions.

I would highly encourage you consider House Hacking.

People don't like the idea and have the mindset that they would always prefer a homeowner in the house.  

We are a low volume housing provider.

House hacking right now in many areas will be at a loss, but less of a loss than owning something with no income coming in on it.

Repair budget set at 40k or 20k for each house.

I vividly remember the countless hours spent driving to and from remote locations in rural Manitoba, alternating between early BP podcasts and Jim Rohn recordings.Over the next two years, I adopted an extremely frugal lifestyle, enabling me to achieve a 75% savings rate, sold my custom truck for a used Toyota, traded my new home in the burbs for a duplex (house-hack) in a challenging neighbourhood of Winnipeg where attempted break-ins were commonplace.

@Kathleen Andrade  I am not sure what registering a house as a faternity means.   

We collect payments through our in-house loan servicing and pay underlying mortgage.  

Hey! I have been successfully renting out 3 rooms in my single family home while living in the unfinished basement for a little over two years now. I have only had to change over tenants one time and each three rooms ...