We have great credit scores and high income.

I know I can't write off the lost income, i.e. if it'd rent for $2,000 a month, and I donate the use of it to the church, I can't write of the $2,000 as a charitable gift.I know if I just treat it as a 2nd home, I can write off the mortgage interest and property taxes, but how do I set it up so I can write off the entire mortgage, insurance, utilities, etc?  

The twist is that they are putting out a bunch of low ball offers to determine sellers' motivation.  

Occupancy has improved a lot since then. 5% actual with 5% economic might be more realistic for 2016. incremental rent growth after the property is stable is 2%I think we can safely assume a 3% growth rate going forward due to high demand and low supply (depends on your area). 

BP podcasts have inspired me to someday house flip full time once I have enough rental income!

Our Vacancy across the state is really low, and in certain cities it's lower than state wide. 

They have a philosophy of keeping the dues low and when something big comes up they typically have a special assessment.

What percentage of  tenant income do you figure  is needed  to best  insure monthly payments ?

@patrick philipWell, if there's no room to negotiate a low price to allow for rehab and then arv, what do you think?

I don't have vacancy rates for Bedford but I'm guessing they're pretty low.