They are pretty strict on these rules.  

Makes the number work great if your a buy and hold looking for CASH FLOW.Bottom line, put 20% down and buy with no less than the 1% rule.  

(EDIT: Also his debt to income ratio is going to improve by quite a bit without having to pay everyone else)

The 1% rule seems to apply still. 

(Without management fees it would look far better... but I’m out of state.)Is there a rule of thumb I can trot out to evaluate investments on a debt to monthly cash flow ratio.

Pleasant have different rules (no owner/occupants which violates their multi-family ordinance). 

What is a a good "rule of thumb" profit margin to shoot for when renting? 

I’m analyzing a property and it’s at a 1.6 rule or cash flowing at 170 if using the 50 % rule, but diving deeper it says it has a negative cash flow of 500 a month.

As for the sec deposit, follow MO rules, which allow for you to deduct unpaid rent from the deposit.

I can probably get about $1400/mo in rent, so it fits the 1% and 50% rules.  1) If I were to do a cash-out refinance, my understanding is that I would affirm that I plan to stay in it for 12 months.