You could look for properties that are already getting solid rents in one of the units. 

Hello everyone, I am reaching out to the BP Community for suggestions.My Portfolio100% owner of 7 SFH PropertiesGP in about 30 SFH properties(of which I own somewhere between 25% to 50%)All but two properties are managed by a PM CompanyNet worth of the above is about $2,000,000 - $2,500,000My IssuesI have many SFH's - Which take up time(Currently spending time paying property tax and insurance, requesting quotes on insurance policies and overseeing the PM Company(approve rent increases, approve renovation projects, etc).They also take up head-space(having to remember property addresses, remembering when property taxes are due)(I have reminders/systems but something I would like to reduce)Goals1) Spend less time on Real Estate2) Free up head-space2) Make $240,000 annually from real estate(Which I think is not to hard if I can increase my net worth and can get an 8% return)Possible Solutions1) Sell all the SFH's and buy 4-Unit Properties to take advantage of conventional financing2) Sell all the SFH's and buy one large apartment complex3) Sell al the SFH's and invest in syndications4) Sell all the SFH's and purchase stock / bonds5) Continue to hold all the SFH's6) Any other suggestionsOther Considations1) Should I consider private notes?

Charge the tenants a higher rent rate and include utilities with their rent.

You need an income that meets three requirements:Rents increase faster than inflation to offset constantly rising prices.It must be reliable; it continues even during economic downturns.It must last throughout your lifetime.These are all long-term requirements, so the current interest rates are not the major issue.

Option 2: Make minor upgrades to the rental property to increase the rent (the current lease is almost ending) and hold onto it.

Have you used the income approach for the current rents and the projected rents? 

Charge the tenants a higher rent rate and include utilities with their rent.

The increased cash flow would make such a substantial difference in your daily life that not paying it off would be foolish.Outside of that, I can't see many reasons I would take a 15% tax hit to save 4% on a mortgage, which is really only effectively about 3-3.5% depending on your tax bracket.

Your not correct under many different circumstances.First property tax is 1.1% (fairly safe) with 2% annual increase (prop 13).Next expenses include a lot more than property tax and interest. 

What I love about them is they will even accept the higher lease amounts over the market rents if we can show first month's rent and security deposit.