You need income to qualify for loans, you can learn how to manage rentals well (something most landlords never do), you will figure out which communities/properties make the best investments, can earn an above-average paycheck, and may even find some investment properties before they hit the market.

The benefit to buying cash and refinancing later is that you can close on a property quickly, which works in your favor in competitive markets.

on the one hand, if you're happy with it, and you believe in this market, and this is what you wanted, great. the fact that you're asking the question shows that you're being thoughtful about it.with that said, it sounds like you're into the deal for almost $90K out of pocket, and so if you asked me if i would put $90K of my hard earned cash into a property to get $175 month, the answer is no. 

As an aside, insurance companies are inspecting most properties one way or another in the current market. 

I'm curious to dive deeper into the Santa Fe market and would love to learn from those with local experience.

Personally, I invest in properties in C-Class neighborhoods in my market (East Linden and Southern Hilltop), and they’ve been cash-flowing well so far.

I have been investing in the stock market for 5 years and I am now transitioning over to real estate after doing my research on real estate for the past two years. 

I did market analysis to find the right rental rate.

“We shifted to a hard-core marketing strategy,” he said.

I'd be interested in any insight on the Sacramento market, esp. from investors in multifamily.