Here is my two pesos and food for thought after researching this exact subject for about a year. 

Cash flowing is possible in East Oakland but as a whole rents are high, property conditions are less than high dollar surrounding area and the towns in East Oakland do not have the large draws that those in West Oakland and Lake Merrit have (Hecka good Food, theaters, shopping centers with more than a KFC, Mattress store, LIQ and Cash for Titles--This is shifting, though!). 

During the 2 previous on site inspections, including 1 from just 2 weeks ago) the dog was carefully hidden and its food dish, etc taken away. 

The other apartment is rented by nice people who are allergic to cats and vodka, they are not moving.Call BF Mom to pick him up when you put out some canned food on the curb.Please sign the attached agreement to move out.Sincerely,Not Stevie Nicks (lol parody)

We only sale lots and not houses.If we were building strip malls for fast food and clothing Inwould be hesitant.

I don't drink coffee but my money waster is drinks and food so I limited outings to once a week with $50 cap which includes drinks so that's $200/month. 

splitting $2,250 for utilities, insurance, car payment, gas, food, etc seems pretty tight.

This falls in line with an article I saw that a lot of families end up wasting a lot of money because they had to throw out food that went bad. 

At food city they are offering massive discounts for the latter.  

If it was a homeowner, I'd check zillow/redfin for when they purchased, and I'd want to work with folks who have owned for at least 2 or 3 years, enough time for them to already have been burned.If it was an investor, I'd just ask them how many properties they own, looking for 2 or 3 minimum (sorry to throw you under the bus new investors, but I'm pretending to be a general contractor here, not a loan officer).If you are ONLY getting phone calls from folks that do not pass the applicable test, then I'd say you have a marketing problem (in my industry, same thing, if the LO is only getting calls from people working in fast food who don't have the income to qualify for a mortgage at local price points, that's a marketing problem).