Unless you have an actual fixed "salary", your income will normally be averaged over 2 years. 

Or is that just normal wear and tear?

Conventional lenders will normally apply the same ratios (LTV, FICO and Debt to Income) as when you purchase your primary property, now they will just add the second home amounts to the first home.If you don't have the income or the cash, you will need to use non-conventional lending, such as private or hard money. 

One tip that I picked up here is while you are starting out and saving money for your investments, start driving / visiting areas you would like to invest in so you get a feel for prices, rents , house conditions etc, and visit and look at lots of homes and open houses so your eye get used to looking at repairs / upgrades that are normal in a particular market.

A lot of the custom work, detail work, tech upgrades didnt cost me any more than the physical supply cost and the daily contractor labor rate.I'll post my costs, but it should only be used as an approximate baseline, some of the things would cost a couple $K more normally. $928 - Wood Laminate Flooring$6000 - Roofing$6521.68 - Kitchen/Bath$495.95 - Landscaping Labor$4250~ - Electrical$2000~ - Plumbing$655 - Water Heater$1973 - Windows$900 - Tile Flooring and Shower Wall Tiles

Normally, I only come out of pocket 5 to 10k per deal. 2) I buy with hard money and then refi into a commercial loan so I'm able to get into the homes with a lot less money than a traditional purchase.But still.

After spending money fixing up a property, I obviously want to make sure the tenants occupying it are not damaging or tearing anything up....whether accidentally or deliberately......or worse still, using my property as a front for some shady illegal activity    (take your pick on that one....the illegal activity that is).I also want to make sure I am on top of the stuff that will break down due to normal wear and tear and stuff that needs regular maintenance.I also want to make sure the tenants are doing their part in up keeping the property as necessary....mowing lawns, shoveling snow from sidewalks and generally maintaining a reasonably clean interior and exterior for their own good and mine.If and when the tenants do tear something up, or something breaks down due to no fault of their own, unless it adversely affects their daily routine, I would think that they most likely would not report it.

Just like all the Gurus and "Lifestyle clubs" they're only going to show you the sunshine and rainbows and skip over all the storms and rainy days.

Use them for normal expenses and don't carry balances.

If you get a good deal on it, great, if you get a fair deal that's fine too. you will have a house that fits your family, your lifestyle, and you will enjoy it for many years.My advice is not to live in a "less desirable area" it will appreciate less and be harder to sell.