On a fixed mortgage, i could pay extra payments (or a one time lump sum payment) and apply it towards principal.

@Abel Eskinder since you're out of the country, you'll probably want to give some thought to our copy & paste info below:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a Class A property in Class D area, what quality of tenant will you get?

The same thing applies to Real Estate. 1.

Some other copy & paste advice:Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a Class A property in Class D area, what quality of tenant will you get?

I am still not 100% on how it should be applied though. 

Strong demand and limited inventory are driving prices up.Perhaps in some markets but you can't apply this thought process to all, especially not the lower tier neighborhoods that have zero barriers and seemingly unlimited inventory.

Filter it and then you can apply your own view.I usually take the other side.

., furnishing, updating the deck).As for the rental days, there’s no strict minimum for the year, but the STR loophole generally applies when average guest stays are less than 7 days.

@Renee CossRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a Class A property in Class D area, what quality of tenant will you get?

., but that does not apply to real property transactions.