Without the marginal all cash buyers of the world like Invitation Homes, American Homes 4 Rent, etc it would be really bad.  

Will occupy one unit and rent out the other two.We are trying to lock a mortgage and wanted to see if anyone had advice on pros and cons of a fixed vs COFI based loanOption 1 - 10yr fixed, adjusts monthly after - 3% rate initial, margin of 2.25% cap at 9.95%Option 2 - monthly adjusting COFI based mortgage, base rate of 1.5%, margin of 0.8%, cap at 9.95%We are leaning towards #2 as it saves us nearly $1500-2000 in mortgage.

The margins are still fine, but holding costs are higher than they were a year ago for sure.  

Doing the math and some guessing, $100k cost to build 1600sf is $62.50 per sf - that's likely the builder's cost not including their profit margin of at least 20% (cost plus 20%).  

Brokerage is a difficult relationship driven business, so it's important to make sure you go into an environment that will be willing to invest time and effort into helping you develop your professional skill set. 1- Investment sales, (this is my focus) This is a low volume high margin business.

You have to put in more but I'd rather get $1200 with a good tenant then $850 with a marginal tenant.

That being said, I've been somewhat frustrated with the lower margins my last few deals returned so I've raised the standard of what I actually consider to be a deal and I'm not willing to settle.  

With many profit margins on the small side, has anyone tried either FSBO or just buying a MLS listing to reduce closing costs?

Lots of investors who never considered buying outside of Austin are now actively working the suburbs as the competition is stiff and the margins are getting quite thin. 

Then, iIt's easier to find the rehabbers to buy the properties in those neighborhoods, and for you profit on a bigger margin.In cheap neighborhoods, landlords expect cheap prices, and you get a smaller margin.