I guess most people answered your question already.As a general rule, know that your lender looks at EVERYTHING.

Most of our portfolio follows 2% rule or what I call $200 in rent/month for every $10k invested.

Freddie mac rules are different and you must show the two years, but fannie is different.

Tax sales can be quite profitable but there is definitely risk and you need to understand the rules.

How important do you think it is to know the occupancy rates for the area and is there a rule to go by.

Also as of right now I would be using it to fund fix n flips and hopefully buy n hold but I can't seem to figure out how to structure them to protect all parties involved...I am also wandering about sec rules and how they apply to any of this.

The basics:I'm a local investor with 11 units of my own in Kalamazoo, a great cashflow market in the Midwest (I achieved the 2% rule in case that helps demonstrate).

I didn't include utilities because they are charged to the renter.From what I've read, the rule of thumb is between 45-50% expense of rent.

From what I know and have experienced it is the buyer's choice of title company.You may be interested in this link from the NAR website (National Association of Realtors):http://realtormag.realtor.org/law-and-ethics/law/article/2013/03/respa-rules-agents

It's really more relevant to the discussion if we decide to move out of state permanently, then we'll be renting it and actually at the 5 rental unit mark which would hit us with rent control rules.