So if your rent is less than a mortgage payment + monthly property taxes + homeowner's insurance and PMI (if applicable), you might actually be increasing your purchasing power by renting!

As a real estate investor how can I increase my chances of having my contract chosen over others?

You always make most if you do the development and even creating the lot splits will increase value. 

If there's a positive side, a housing crash decreases homeownership, pushing people to turn to renting - increasing the supply of potential tenants.

All the previous home owners that were displaced through foreclosure became renters, thereby increasing rental demand.

I have told the tenants that there will be a rent increase if their sister-in-law, but I am unsure of how much extra should be charged.

Basically, for reasons I don't know, they didn't want to do business with me.Back to the 1.2 rule, I haven't had problems with another lender to increase my portfolio loan guidance they gave me about a year ago to add more properties, so that's why I also think there was something else that was not shared with me.

I still have to rehab the property before any of that, but it’s definitely going to exponentially increase my value.

Small investment on your part to do a bit of painting and carpet cleaning could very likely increase the perceived value quite a bit.

If you don't know your market, then not only is it more complicated, it is increasingly risky.