aim for a good house, not a cheap house as it will attract lower quality tenants and cost you more in the long run.

If rates improve slightly, a cash-out refinance could lower your mortgage rate, but ensure the numbers work with your long-term goals.One thing to consider is your return on equity (ROE).

Making matters worse, 99.9% of individuals on BiggerPockets who want to buy in distant markets do so because the entry cost of doing business is lower.

@Carlos Ptriawan how do you mean, "management required the LTV to be lower than 50-60 percent" ?

We did get much lower costs when we changed to minisplits but the initial cost is high.

Or if you want to swap higher returns for lower maintenance you can look in to FIG (fourplex investment group_.

Balancing that with wanting to do something to maintain affordable housing for those in mid to lower income brackets.  

Have a few arms due in about 5 years..those I will finance to fixed rate as rates lower. 

Congrats on your success in acquiring the duplex that now will yield 6.5% cap at current lower rental rates. 94115 is a great zip code to be in.

Who cares about lifetime interest costs, except to the extent you can easily lower them (refinance to a lower interest rate) to increase your cashflow.