I live in North Dakota, and I came across an apartment complex for sale in one of the state’s oil-heavy cities. I was wondering if anyone here has invested in a similar situation—where most of the local tenants work i...

These areas tend to move quickly and minimize vacancy.If you want a balance of appreciation and rent demand, you can consider Dallas, Hiram, and Douglasville as starting points to move you in that direction.At the end of the day, the best area comes down to which strategy you're using and what your numbers will allow, because different parts of Metro Atlanta perform differently depending on financing, cash, and your long-term hold goals. 

But, you may need to look into this depending on the property.

Quote from @AJ Exner: It depends on the lender, so giving them a heads up is good.Most of the programs that I am aware of will allow you do utilize only 50% of whatever the 'gift' is.

The "retainer" is nothing more than a fixed fee in lieu of the monthly rent percentage, which is usually 8-10% depending on where you are, so at 10% that's 2500/month rent, anything less than that puts you higher than 10%. 

:) And, since it's the second version, you'll get an even more complete answer:ou are correct about location dependency and so you need to do your homework first.

The loan product depends on several variables including the type of property (single family, 2-4 unit dwelling, multifamily) and the investment strategy (owner occupied - house hack, non-owner occupied). 

Double-check the rent assumptions$1,500 for the downstairs long-term unit sounds reasonable depending on condition and comps.$800 for a Padsplit-style room is solid, but remember you’re effectively running a rooming-house model upstairs — more turnovers, more wear-and-tear, more management.

I think it depends on area, my 1 bedrooms rent well with low turnover, 3-4 years.   

It depends on the price point and the deal.