Worst case, the entirety of the $23,400 contingency allocation is subtracted from the $42,000.00 leaving a balance of $18,600.00 in the account + the $5,000 if not utilized.I would still consider this a win given the balance in the account (approximately 10% of purchase price even if full budget was allocated) pl us equity pay-down and whatever appreciation the property sees.

You can only rent out the property in its entirety. 

For the vast majority of these persons if they had bought 1, ONE SFH in the 1980's and held that alone as a rental, that 1 property ALONE today would equal the entirety of the returns they are afforded from the 3 decades of dumping capital into Wall Street. 

You can also sell a piece of equity in the property rather than the entirety of it.