Last year, on my 9 properties I had negative cash flow after accounting for mortgage payments, etc.

Mortgage surveys have a margin of error of up to a foot if I recall.

Would you buy 5 houses in Clarksville, which rent for less than your mortgage payment? 

My idea to buy a home is to get an 80% LTV 1st mortgage from a bank, take over that mortgage and give the seller a second mortgage for 50% of the 1st mortgage balance because I need some cash to cover the payments, which the amount of cash would be more than the remaining equity in the home.

All-In-One mortgage?

I would check with Dennis Kahn at Homestead Mortgage or another popular mortgage broker here, Zach Starnes or there are several other lenders that can re-fi off appraised value much sooner than 1 yr.

The new buyer brought a new down payment that made me whole and then some, and despite the original buyer falling behind, I continued making the underlying payment on the mortgage with reserves from his original down payment.

The quick short answer in my opinion is this: If you want growth stick to the small multis that you know and once the mortgages are paid off retire fully.

We've averaged around 7% for mortgage rates for the past two years now…I think if we can see a settling somewhere in the 6% range, if not sub 6%, we will see nice consumer confidence not only for home values, but rent values as well.

But it’s clear you’re a smart investor who knows the long-term benefits real estate can bring.I keep reminding myself why I stick with real estate: you can make money every month in four different ways:Cash Flow – Passive income to live on.Appreciation – Long-term property value growth.Depreciation – Tax benefits that reduce your taxable income.Tenants Paying Down the Mortgage – Even if you’re paid off now, this is one of the biggest wealth-building tools for leveraged properties.It sounds like your main struggle is the stress of active management—and trust me, you’re not alone.