It's a depressed economy and you're not going to be able to get great rents. 

"She doesn't boom but she doesn't but either"The only issue I see with your strategy is scalability. 20-40 units often get crushed with expenses because of the lack of economies of scale. 100+ units are actually easier to manage :)Happy hunting!

In inventory-constrained areas pre-construction SFHs can be a great way to get new construction at decent prices (the builders have real economies of scale so they can build cheaper than you and me).

And while those things (population growth etc) seem favorable right now, you are exposed to the local and national economy and local market as a whole to be successful.

It may be a little late in your case, but since the economy is tightening, others reading this might benefit by not have their money missing when they really need it.

The question is how is the profile of the state in regards to landlords, growth for the economy, supply of land, and is this house attractive enough on the exit to garner an aggressive bid if you were to sell in the next up market cycle in 7, 12, 15, 21 or whatever years?

A lender may also want stronger debt coverage ratios and be tougher on appraisals because they will have more work involved securing several  properties if things go south for any reason.Your loan amount is rather small for a blanket loan, you should have better luck with a small lender/bank or regional bank as many larger lenders may want a minimum loan of $500K or 1M.  

You can always leave a packet and highlight your property details and the comps you believe are stronger than others.

Declining local economies invariably hurt home values.

I think your idea of a very large down payment is a good idea given the current economy.