The fed stated goal (with interest rate policy) is to "boost asset prices and encourage stock market investment".

World events, the Fed's position on MBS's, and a variety of other items influence them as well.That being said, there are still, and will still be deals for investors both on the market and off market.

To be direct, yes that would totally influence my decision seeing as it's about a 20% difference in both my payment and monthly cash flow.

Most banks are going to require that you have two years of steady payment history on the job before giving you a loan.There is a service called Experian Boost that can help build your credit history using, cell phone payments, streaming services, and your other bills.If none of the above are available to you, the next strategy may take six months to a year.You can get a secured card through your bank or credit union.

:D (Isn't there some system in place that takes influence points away?)

This is a third party influence for you, people know or should relize that if others who are knowledgable in RE are working with you, that's a credit to you.

i didn't remember the permits and such so getting at least a handyman/g.c. would be a good idea for the first few jobs. and i am sure i will be obsessiv and nervous enough that i will constatnly go to the job site and oversee anyways. i will talk to my realtor and feel her out. she is not in real estate as a full time job but more as a boost to afford what they currently have. she has helped a few of us buy homes in our playgroup and did take me to some homes that were fixers when we were looking even though we couldn't get them (va loan...must be liveable). she has the knowledge about the market and is a little more astute with fixing/building projects so as long as she understands what i want and need i know she'll be an assett. i think she'll be understanding of the low offers. i believe a comment was that "well it doesn't hurt to put in [this] offer" for a range listed house. there were quite a few short sale and reo propertys when i was looking so i'm sure there are still plenty. i think the majority of personally owned homes that are on the market here are already fixed up so i will have to go with reo/foreclosure homes. problem is finding one that has a small loan and the bank is selling for that price. but i guess thats the point!

This will influence the interests that you receive from prospective tenants.

Debt can certainly boost the ROI but leaves you very vulnerable on more levels to nasty surprises. 

Higher debt influences your FICO and debt to income ratio.Have a plan to pay the debt off.