It's provided my brother and his fiance a renovated home that decreased there cost of living.

But I do know of big landlords who would work with such folks but the risk has to be decreased considerably by cash down such as the entire lease paid up front.

Decrease in acceptable combined loan to value ratio, from as high as 80% to as low as 65%

The decline was due to both the faster pace of sales and a decrease in inventories (7,000 units).

I honestly have not thought about that as a possibility but you’re right, I can eventually refinance and pull my money out to reinvest but there’s a lot less pressure because I’m not dealing with buying a house, rehabbing, renting and then refinancing all within a 6 month time frame - talk about stressful haha.

Just be aware that that kind of stress will cloud your judgment. 

Any options for people assuming a good scenario in terms of credit, DTI, stress tests, seasoning, etc?

And, stress that staying at the current property is really not an option that will provide them with a long-term solution. 

If the ask is reasonable and in line with market trends, I’ll have little choice but to accept.On another note it’s interesting how many parts of the country are experiencing trends of lower rents etc and in some cases sharp decreases as local economies have been impacted but people are fixated on the news articles coming from San Francisco and NYC which say rents are down 5 - 10%.

In all actuality, you'll be "figuring it out" your whole life, we all do, so don't stress :)  At the same time, don't be afraid of jumping right into it.