It is known that the entries of the inverse of an (invertible) $n \times n$ zero-one matrix $A$ can grow exponentially in $n$.  See this MO question:
http://mathoverflow.net/questions/81496/bounding-the-absolute-sum-of-entries-of-the-inverse-of-a-0-1-matrix?lq=1.

What if $A$ is known to have constant column sums (so a multiple of a stochastic matrix)?  Or, more generally, what if we have bounds on the entries of $A^\top A$?

In the first question (with no additional constraints on $A$), Noam Elkies' gives an interesting example in which $A_{ij}=1$ if and only if $j=i$, $j=i+1$ or $j=i+3$.  Interpreting these (mod $n$) leads to only three more ones in the (now circulant) matrix, yet the inverse becomes well-behaved.