The 50% rule is for all expenses excluding debt service.2.

I gather from your comments that you intend to hold this property, so that "appreciation"(used loosely) won't be realized in a sale price and a 70% refinance (assuming your ARV is close to accurate) won't even get your whole down payment back out of the deal, let alone repair costs.Final thought: If you have to include tax savings and loan pay-down, and exclude PM expenses and reserves to make the numbers look better, it's too thin. 

It excludes the painting, flooring, appliances ceiling fans and removing a freestanding shed in the backyard which obviously adds to the total.

.- exclude any below 1% RV- exclude any with landlord paid utilites- exclude any built before 1980-  exclude 1 brs and studios- exclude any that weren't built as multis (ie converted SFRs)That may leave you with none to look at so then you can back off the criteria a little.

Fannie Mae has unveiled a new program that allows previously excluded sources of income.  

But with the way FEMA and congress are monkeying around and changing the rules today, I think there is so much uncertainty about what they will do (and what it will cost), I am back to excluding properties in flood hazard areas from consideration for purchase.

Is your purchase a distress situation so that you can exclude it from the comps?

That requirement alone excluded a lot of properties within the rent-controlled city limits of Los Angeles, hence the reason I had to look a little further out (like Santa Clarita).  

This house was a bit of a challenge given it's size and configuration but we have finalized a design and we have excluded the suite.  

With the tax laws allowing you to exclude $250k in capital gains on your residence, you can buy properties on the cheap, live in them and fix them up, and sell every 2 years (you must live in the property for 2 out of 5 years) for a profit with no income taxes on the gain.Similarly, you can look to do the same with duplex, triplex, and fourplex properties.