A good rule of thumb is to keep 3-6 months of operating expenses in your rental account as a cushion.Once you’ve got that covered, you can start investing the excess.

Far too many get stuck in the "paralysis by analysis" stage, thinking they just don't know enough to get started.

I like to look for board orders, excessive fines for weeds/grass, stop orders, and unsecured premises. 

Can stay in the same budget and use the excess to invest or trade up.

I have never held a mortgage 15 years (or even 12.5 years) and I have had quite a few mortgages.I claim that it is better to have the negative cash flow and use the $450k to achieve a return in excess of the 6%.  

Far too many get stuck in the "paralysis by analysis" stage, thinking they just don't know enough to get started.

At this stage in the game I'd say as a general rule skip the mentorships and gurus. 

At this stage you're probably better off investing that extra money into your primary business activity.What part of CA are you in?

Far too many get stuck in the "paralysis by analysis" stage, thinking they just don't know enough to get started.

John - I've recently added "virtual staging" to my rental photos.