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).

Food for thought.

Almost all the money I spend goes towards my rent, student loans, and basic necessities like food. 

Just food for thought.

If I hire a caterer and the food isn't good, it's *MY* fault. 

They start you off with 60K points for travel or you cash redeem it for cash for $750. 3 points for every $ spent on food, or travel. 

So income is around 4000-5000/month, debt is 950 total plus food, travel etc living expenses. 10k cash and 30k equity in home.