The house is next door to another one that we own which is what made it appealing, but I'm starting to think it is more trouble than it's worth.

Yes school will bring debt but with a major like mechanical engineering, you will start off with a good salary plus engineering is always in high demand so you shouldn't have trouble finding that first job.I myself have a bachelors in electrical engineering and I'm currently working towards buying a multifamily house to "house hack".

You don't want to be too forthcoming about your reason to deny them tenancy lest you end up breaking the Fair Housing rules (Federal or State) you could be in big trouble. 

The trouble I have been having is finding other very serious investors.

Produce a PoF and offer to get a letter for Pre-Approvial asap as you get notice. 

Please advise i want to make sure im not getting in trouble for requiring a pre approval letter for who ever is interested in viewing my home. thanks in advance!

You have no recourse, they have signed leases, so why go through the trouble ?

Always use actual rents for evaluations to stay out of trouble. 

We bought our first property last April owner occupied/conventional loan with 3.5% down. After speaking with our mortgage guy a few months ago he did a prelim pre-approval and said everything was good to go.Found a du...

I took cash out so maybe my equity percent is not as high as yours but I purchased properties that have produced better returns than I expeat going forward.