A single family house with a small HOA can still present a lot of risk, so tread lightly. 

We still end up doing a few things like upgrading appliances or installing recessed LED lighting and dimmer switches and other life-style upgrades to attract top-notch tenants. 

It's hard to harvest equity on these plays, unless you commit, long-term, towards very light leverage, as the only practical ways to benefit from the equity in your portfolio, if you plan to never sell it, only exchange it, for a lifetime, are to spend the cash flow, or cash out refi.

Her leaving was bittersweet, as it was for a great personal opportunity for her.I’d love advice from you seasoned landlords:Should I lower the requirements in light of the area’s circumstances, or wait it out?

Decided to grab another one there since we've already built out a great team and the lift to get it running will be light. 

If not, then these people will be arrested when it comes to light.

stephen -------------Thats easy to remedy , have the bathroom light wired along with the service switch , she turns off the furnace at the switch , she has no electric in the bathroom .

On paper, it looked brilliant..cheap money, quick turnaround, and a profit projection that made his eyes light up.It taught me that the real risk isn’t just the cost of capital, it’s the predictabilty of your exit strategy.

Functionally, it operates as a 2-story home since the downstairs area has multiple windows in each room and plenty of natural light.

Keep in mind all these markets are very different than the Cambridge area in terms of tenant base, household income, transit, etc.Happy to connect if you'd like to chat more!