I think it's totally personal preference.

@Eric C. one year of rents on tax returns is totally fine. 

Company/employer contributions are made when taxes and books are confirmed to be accurate and total maximum amounts are verified by CPA and administrator. 

The total cost was $1200.

Total rent Years 1 - 4 = $500,000Total rent Years 5 - 10 = $1,000,000Total Rent = 1,500,000Spread Total Rent over the life of the lease (10 year) and it's $150,000 per year.If we straight-line our rent, then our DSCR jumps up to 1.2x. 

But if you spent a total of $500,000 ($300K to purchase and $200K to fix up not including closing/holding costs), then you're still short by $50,000 in the end.So you need to negotiate numbers that work up front so you can pay back your private lender(s), have a bunch of cash of your own to bridge the gap, or walk from the deal.But this is assuming you borrow ALL the money.

I totally agree that vacancy is better than the wrong tenant, but boy is sucks when a unit sits a month, so I feel for you.

To start, the numbers:3 bedroom, 1.5 bath 1700 sq foot brick SFH with bonus room.Purchase Price: $59kAppraisal: $105k as is with estimated $124k after rehab.Renovation budget: $20k.Renovations include: new flooring in bonus room, kitchen and baths. total renovation of bathrooms, new cabinets, crown molding (to cover bad drywall job by previous owner), buff hard woods, paint exterior, paint interior, remove awning, remove side door and seal up, fix low spot in kitchen floor, and remove the non-permitted fire place.Estimated Rent: Initially I budgeted $950 per month based on another rental I own in a similar location, but  two houses on the same block were recently rented for $1200+.

I left a can by the curb of a vacant property for weeks, totally forgot to move it back since I wasn't there much.

@Gabe G. if I understand you correctly, the total damage is under $500?