Please advise.ThanksMel I'd recommend a local Independent Agency that has access to multiple markets including surplus lines

Some popular STR markets include:•Gatlinburg, TN – Strong vacation rental market near the Smoky Mountains.

@Brian Rocha It’s clear why most lenders insist on including rehab funds in the loan, and all of our partner banks follow this practice for fix-and-flip loans to minimize risk and meet securitization standards.

They might not be great for cash flow but might be great for long term capital appreciation especially when you use leverage.I’d rather own a $1M asset that breaks even but appreciates consistently by 3% than own a $100k asset that cash flows $3k per year.There’s power in investing in or near your backyard.  

Are you both friends and have unique skill sets and are breaking up the duties of investing based on those skills?

I'll save you the details but...Per door cost: $63,300All in Cost: 700kTotal Revenue: 137k(ish) annuallyNOI: 65-73% (in the expenses we included: insurance, taxes, $75/month per door repair expense, management fee 8%, grass cutting, & a misc fund for random crap business license, etc.)Now...

This would help you get going.You might be able to make these a  little nicer and force appreciation and a little higher rent.Either way rents will go up over time and the mortgage with remain constant.Maybe even make one unit a STR which could see higher income.I'd be ok with break even or a little bit negative on a Quad given you have 4 properties in one.If you're only breaking even you still have depreciation and other tax write off to help you out.I usually make people 3 offers.

Hard to produce cash flow or break even with that much debt, at that rate.House-hackers, however enjoy certain one time (non-scalable) advantages that should be taken advantage of in the early days: - They can assume pre-existing debt like VA and FHA Loans (rather than take it on Subject-To which is dramatically riskier).- They can rent by the room and self-manage to produce day 1 cash flow.- Many of these HCOL areas also have strict limitations on AirBnB or short-term rentals... that do not apply to owner-occupants - thus allowing for extreme cashflow potential for house-hackers.

In your experience, do you find that it's possible to cashflow or at least break even with these properties and today's prices/rates?

Hey Denny - For rehab costs, a good place to start is breaking things down room by room and getting rough estimates for common repairs like the roof, HVAC, kitchen, light cosmetics, etc.