@Zack Karp really appreciate the quick but thorough response. i've submitted numerous mortgage loan applications tonight. if you're open to connecting on wednesday. shoot me a pm. i'd like to decide on a lender by end of day wed.as for the rehab, luckily my dad's a general contractor so we feel fairly confident that 35k in rehab is overbudgeting....hopefully

(Let's also detail that the house was bought for $20k and the owner put $5k into the house to get heat, water, and electricity active but the home but fundamentally the home would fail any basic HUD habitability inspection)At the end of 5 years the house most likely will still be worth $60k and the tenant will have $6,000 of theoretical equity to purchase the house with the landlord knowing full well any bank will require the buyer/tenant to come out of pocket ~$30k to cover the gap in equity.I have seen these renew themselves to attempt to help appreciation catch up with the contract price and I have personally met with un-educated tenant/buyers who thought this was a good deal and are furious when they realize they put thousands of dollars down and really can never really purchase the home.I have walked numerous homes and communicated with the owner to show them what happens when a broke un-skilled tenant "fixes" the house for a few years...if it isn't actually falling apart and many times even if it does they ignore it. 

One of the reasons many people in California can invest in large amounts out of state is because they have high paying jobs, like the numerous tech workers, that live here in the Bay. 

This will limit the potential buyers (and there are other circumstances that will give people pause).Although the neighborhood is in a slightly upward transition, most of the immediate surrounding housing is rental, and likely to remain that way for the near future (big old houses converted to apartments, and a couple of former mansion sites that have urban renewal apartment buildings - cheap).I am concerned that the primary market for their house will be rental, with the potential for tenants to block the driveway, causing conflicts with my tenants.

But, after numerous inquiries with landlords, rental offices and students themselves, the rent paid for off-campus housing seems to be all over the board, with no particular rationale for why they're charging one price over another.

I would like to grow faster and I see people buying numerous properties in a years time.

I live in a good sized college town where multifamily units are numerous but rarely come on the market.

But a JP in urban Dallas may not rule the same as a JP in a rural county.

I'll bet you'll be surprised by the interest you get if you're in an urban area.

I don't disagree with your definition but like you said that is a bit narrower than the actual definition:Gentrification: "the process whereby the character of a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in, improving housing, and attracting new businesses, typically displacing current inhabitants in the process."