Starting out & need some advice....

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We are going to just jump in to the rental thing and find out if we like it. We have always wanted to do it, but have been kinda nervous. Now with our current home paid off we feel more comfortable with money.

My first question, should you always go with a 30 year mortgage because of the depreciation factor? Or should we consider a 15 year? I was thinking that if we really like doing this and want to buy more rentals then going 30 years & having a little profit each month would allow us to buy more properties in the future. Also, for our first rental should we use the equity in our current home or should we apply for a mortgage with the new property. The good thing about using the equity in our home is we wouldn't have to put 20% down.

Also, is anyone willing to share how they figure if an investment is worth it to them. I would like to get some idea on how to compute the bottom line.

Like I said we are so new to all this and I suppose we'll learn along the way, but would like to hear your thoughts or suggestions.

Thanks,
Renee