do the lenders include the renovation cost in the loan principle amount? 

2) The FHA MI you're paying is going down every year based on the principle balance.3) You could look into a cash-out refi to see if rolling in other debt helps it make sense to refinance.

People will exploit and monetize new shiny objects to make money.

My objective is to put idle funds to work efficiently.

However, there's another factor, you and your objectives, which I don't know about.

Hey Eric, Find out his specific goals & objectives for what he's wanting to do with his portfolio. 

If a home costs 100,000 and you put down 20%, and for simplicity the expenses are 50% of rent, let’s say renting at 1500 (which is solid), and a fixed rate mortgage at 5% for 30 years comes out to 430 a month for principle and interest.

I sincerely appreciate your input and support.As we prioritize cash flow and equity as our primary goals, we understand the importance of strategic location selection to ensure optimal rental income.Considering our business objectives, it may be necessary to expedite our planned strategy to increase our capital expenditure and emergency fund, mitigating any potential risks in the coming year.

If you didn't diversify, when the market has a prolonged downturn, you will eat up your principle using that money to live and then not have enough to generate the returns you need when it picks back up. 3.

The difference between my approach and other approaches recommended in this thread is my approach is based on appraisal principles and sound business practices, not gimmicks like some people are recommending.