We tried an outsource screening service once, but were unsatisfied with their process - which was designed for Class A tenants.With 3,000 units, an outsource company would probably promise to modify their processes to whatever you wanted that was legal.

Same builder, same house, in same neighborhood for example could back to a busy main street in the entrance of the neighborhood, could face West where people prefer East facing, be the house that everyone drives by and lights shine in the front windows when you enter the neighborhood, could back to power lines in the back of the neighborhood, could be next to the community pool, could be on a corner with a bigger lot, and a host of other factors go into pricing....not just size.The 3 main sources that most sellers use for size are tax roll, appraiser, or builder's plan. 

Over the the episodes from the past two weeks, David from the BiggerPockets podcast has brought up that real estate will be harder and harder to from the "small guy" to get into each year due to factors like: inflation, hedge funds being hyperactive in the market, the lack of supply and high demand causing an increasingly competitive market, real estate being a more attractive investment for our current economic condition, etc... 

That would factor into your purchase price and ROI.Good luck....

You don’t have all the factors you had in 2008 with plummeting prices, what people are in trouble will likely not be upside down and simply be able to just sell their houses on the open market.  

We spent a little more then usual because we wanted the finished product to be hi quality and we spent on nicer finishes, design and staging.

Credit score would also be a factor, but you can easily add a partner to these loans to shore up where ever you may be lacking. 

Our next real estate investment is our own house we’re build on land we own in MN using Landmark Home & Land company that provides full service support to owner builders with their kits from design to permitting to completion.

Obviously, offer acceptance is dependent on multiple factors such as intended purchase price, but this is not uncommon.

If you factor in your flood insurance, and the numbers still work, then you need to decide if the risk is worth the reward.