Is positive cash flow possible?

[Nick E.]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum and have have a few questions I'd like to get your opinions on. 

Situation: I'm interested in purchasing a 2 bedroom apartment anywhere in the US, which I would rent out over many years.

First of all, how accurate do you find Zillow rent estimates?

2. It seems most of you are adamant about having positive cash flow, but this seems nearly impossible in my browsing on Zillow in many areas across the country. As a heuristic, I'm using the conservative 50% monthly expenses rule. From there, if I'm not mistake, the rent would have to be more than double the mortgage payment for positive cash flow to occur. I'm not seeing this to be the case pretty much anywhere. Are my assumptions wrong, or am I searching wrong?

3. I understand that positive cash flow affords many benefits such as scalability of a strategy, and some risk buffer. On the other hand, can't equity through mortgage paydown provide a solid ROI after, say, 10 years, even assuming no appreciation?

Thanks for your response!

-Nick

Seattle, WA