The networking and local market insights are invaluable.For retirement planning, focus on building steady cash flow and consider setting aside a healthy maintenance fund (I usually recommend 6 months of expenses) to protect against any surprises.If you're looking to expand your portfolio, Columbus is a great market where we still see positive cash flowing deals with lots of appreciation potential.

As expenses fluctuate (property taxes, insurance, maintenance items, etc), the cash flow will be up and down and unreliable.

Are the maintenance costs really lower? 

One posted about buying a cheap quad,  i used her bumbers provided and my maintenance/cap ex to show negative $600/month.  

The rooms are unfurnished and the tenants are very low-maintenance (hardly know they are there). 2+Unit Buildings here and nearby currently sell for $1.5M on average.I bought the property 16 years ago, so my mortgage rate is very low (2.2%) Even though the property is cashflow positive, my bigger play is the average 5% yearly appreciation.I'm looking for others who are interested in house-hacking in this neighborhood. 

My property manager I don't think has a chance to relax, but she does have systems built around her to free up the time when it comes to regular maintenance and rent collection. 

My bookkeeping practice pays me active income, so my priority is equity.For debt loans, you will see 10-15% annualized, depending on your experience as an operator.

Normally an annual STR revenue at 20% of purchase price would provide solid COC.  

Cash Flow: The numbers currently show a negative annual cash flow -$21,242.

I just got done with my required annual commission update for 2024 (I know I’m a slacker, I waited until the very end of the year lol) and the teacher of the class said that a high percentage of the number of agents who had their licenses revoked in 2024 were the result of being involved in subject to transactions that went sideways.