Those buying close to the city are either breaking even or taking negative cashflow and banking on appreciation (or buying all cash and parking money, ha).If you do consider Lowell, I'd also recommend you check out the Fitchburg/Leominster area as well.

But same theory give them a second chance and many times I was negative cash flow I would rent for less than their mortgage to get them going again.. did well over hundred of those and I can count on one hand how many actually were able to totally cure and buy the home back.. 90% of them defaulted in the first 18 months..

So, even as the Fed lowers the Federal Funds rate, and as we see the spread between the 10-year treasury yield and the 30 year mortgage rate shrink, upward pressure on the 10-year from longer-term foundational pressures will see mortgage rates tick up or or at least hold steady.While this is neutral/slightly negative news for home buyers, it is very bad news indeed for our friends in the commercial real estate world, who are really seeing the best case scenario for the 10-year right now.

I’m likely staring at negative cash flow net of that high rate, or at best breakeven.

You might be referring to income / expenses that are reflected by cash.Cash you receive from rentsExpenses that you pay out such as insurance, interest, taxes, etc.You may not have included depreciation expense which would bring your taxable income down further.It may be possible that the negative taxable income would bring your taxable income down.

But yes, your retirement benefits may be negatively affected when you play the S-corp game.

Speaking from the Arizona perspective, we are experiencing continued growth, attracting lots of new residents (Californians choose Texas and Arizona as their top 2 places to move).Here's an economic forecast:https://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/economy/2019/12/11/arizona-state-university-annual-economic-forecast-predicts-slower-growth/4398074002/Not sure where you are getting your "low rent" thoughts, maybe compared to CA.

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

As always, speak to a lawyer. 

For example, I have repeatedly informed him of my very negative experience with ABC Capital Investments (still going on almost one year with no payments to show for it) and yet he continues to promote ABC Capital Investments in Baltimore and Philadelphia despite fully knowing that many people continue to have very bad experiences with them.