Ways to mitigate this is to try and target (in accordance w/ fair housing) older students and/or grad students - they are typically much more independent.

You potentially completely mitigate taxes altogether using the 1031.  

No doubt as real estate investors we get taxes coming from multiple angles...thank goodness for the mitigating deductions.  

A good turnkey company will have a high (and consistently tracked) occupancy rate and other good performance metrics so doing your due diligence when selecting a partner will go a long way to mitigating these risks.

When you hold a {rental} property in a corporation, income is taxed at the highest corporate tax rate - which increases the benefit of claiming the CCA deduction each year and mitigates the punitive aspects of the recapture.In addition to how you hold property, the length of the hold will also factor into whether you claim the CCA deduction; claim the deduction for a few years than stop; or do not bother to claim the deduction at all.  

Do not think that if banks strategically mitigate occasional unpreventable losses, they would willingly enter into a deal to lose.

There are also some who take a more business-like approach and will look at the asset, the cash-flow and the leverage, which would mitigate weaker tax returns.

I'm very green as far as mortgage tips and tricks as this is only my 2nd mortgage.I'm currently updating parts of the house such as a full bathroom gut on the main floor, new water heater, softener, fuse panel, radon mitigation system, windows, paint, flooring etc. 

Your primary concern is mitigating risk.

You will hopefully have a camera run in the sewers to help mitigate that risk, but its only one example.