If you play your cards right you should be able to find a landlord that will hold the unit for no more than the normal deposit.

Economic indications show a trending towards recession in the United States real estate industry with lower demand, higher interest rates and falling property prices.

I can imagine that would be really tough to find in most major metros. some condos dtown chicago go for 950 a month for a studio and I'm pretty sure I can't find a seller that will sell it to me for 95k.But at the same time, just because I'm not in an area where SFH cost 50k, and you can easily apply that rental rule of 100 to, doesn't mean I shouldn't be allowed to play the RE game.There has to be a model in which people from big cities run their analysis through that has to differ with people from smaller cities.

This means, playing the middle man on ALL deals.

I guess the demand was pretty high and I probably could have gotten $1100, even though that would have been more than others were asking for comparable places.

And it seems as if there is a demand for such structures.

Get values from Carmax or other sources and always demand to know the ACV of your trade with any dealer.

Bear in mind that if a lawful heir ever shows up and wins title to the property, then he/she can demand any rents collected, or that would have been collected during your occupancy.  

I always tell my investors it is like playing Monopoly you have to have houses on every side of the board (different markets) to win the game.

When you invest in these things on your own (without any experience to back you up) you will definitely see these risks coming into play!