The entire process took about 3 weeks between my application and actual signing of the docs, and the cool thing is it didn't cost me a thing (they paid for the appraisal).

I know one person who has several rental properties in the same time and he always has about 50 applicants when one comes open and often he has a waiting list.

Lower premiums mean more cash flow and often a more valuable property.There are Wet and Dry flood mitigation techniques that applicable in different settings.

The exception is that I know a couple of people who did not actually have PR when they got their loans, but they had applied for PR (and had shown their lender proof of such PR application) at the time of the loan.  

Should always have a stream of new tenants applicants coming in.   

Do not hesitate, to post questions and bounce ideas around in applicable forums.

[T]herefore such a practice would violate the Fair Housing Act.”because blacks and Hispanics commit crimes and go to prison at much higher rates than whites, a policy of automatically rejecting applicants with a criminal past will have a “disparate impact” on different racial groups

The credentials of the POF letter will be examined, or at lease I sure would.A POF from Fidelity or some Credit Union would be accepted at face value, while some HML unknown to me would be vetted as much as I would for a tenant rental application, ie: what we see may not be what we get.

It's a great relief not to have to spend a bunch of time marketing the rental, holding showings, taking a bunch of applications, screening, etc. 

And even if the property was cash flow negative, provided it's not "too negative", if the renter is paying off the interest on the mortgage, property taxes, and HOA fees (if applicable), you're paying into your own equity while using the bank's money to yield greater returns on appreciation. (3% appreciation on $50K in your bank account is much lower than 3% appreciation on a $500K property.)To best maximize your long-term ROI I'd definitely stick with neighborhoods surrounding the universities or burgeoning neighborhoods like Eastie, JP or certain areas of Roxbury.