As to the buddy I mentioned in Washington state it was the same scenario; he converted tax-free up to their standard deduction but above that he kept within the lowest tax bracket and paid the smallest amount of tax possible.Thank you @Basit Siddiqi for calling me out on this and giving me a chance to address my mistake; it's important people have the correct information.  

A buddy of mine in Phoenix added a fenced yard and bunk beds to his listings.. nothing fancy, just a few tweaks.. and he went from crickets to getting three calls in two weeks.Preferred Landlord Program: This program gets you priority placement, and while ALE charges a fee, it's worth it for visibility.

A buddy of mine, who’d been eyeballing a small multi-unit in Tucson recently, nearly forgot to factor in the HOA’s special assessment fee.

Ok buddy.

It reminds me of a buddy of mine in San Diego who realized early on that the investors who stuck around longest weren’t just chasing the best cap rate..they were sticking with him because he made them feel like they were part of something that actually mattered.

It is not really a good system for getting a CT.I had called in a few buddies from around the area.

Stop hanging out with your deadbeat buddies who spend all day drinking, talking sports, and otherwise wasting away.

For something more robust, tools like Excel or online calculators from financial planning sites might better suit your needs.Your ROI Formula:ROI = (Net Cash Flow ÷ Total Out-of-Pocket Investment) × 100For your scenario:Net Cash Flow = Annual Rental Income - (Mortgage Payment + 401k Loan Payment + Other Expenses)Total Out-of-Pocket Investment = $40,000 cash + $50,000 loan payments over 5 years.I came across a piece in Bloomberg recently discussing creative financing, and they touched on ROI calculations for multiple loans.Personal anecdote: A buddy of mine leveraged a 401k loan for a fourplex.

Stop hanging out with your deadbeat buddies who spend all day drinking, talking sports, and otherwise wasting away.

I have a buddy who did it with his 1rst rental earlier this year.