I’ve spoken with a few agents who estimate it could generate anywhere from $150,000 to $300,000 in revenue, which is a big range.

However, they approach financial health from different angles.The 50% Rule is a quick estimate that suggests operating expenses (excluding mortgage principal and interest) will roughly equal 50% of the property's gross income.The DSCR is a more precise calculation (Net Operating Income / Total Debt Service) that determines if a property generates enough income to cover its debt obligations.Deal example:- Class C middle class neighborhood- 4bd / 2ba single family house- ARV: 190k- Purchase: 105k- Rehab: 35k- Market rent: $1,400-1,525- Section 8: $1,475- Property manager: 10%- Taxes: 125 month- Insurance $1250 yr- HOA: $55 month- purchased and rehabbed with all cash.

Unfortunately I was not able to put much away for retirement most of my life so I was thinking about attempting to buy 4 rental units over the next 4 years with the hopes of building up something that could generate income in 5 to 7 years to supplement my retirement at 68.

After 45 + years as a real estate investor, broker, lender, fund manager and syndicator, I’ve become aware that the “dream” of many investors and investor “hopefuls” is to be able to generate enough cash flow to live off their real estate holdings and accumulate enough wealth to make “work” optional.

Quote from @Brendan Jones: I am very new to learning about real estate and am looking for advice on my first home and how I can best use it to help offset my mortgage and generate cash flow.

It gives you access to funds at a relatively low interest rate, and you can repay it as the rental generates income.

That will typically generate a response from the PM to negotiate a settlement and avoid an investigation.

I bring sales experience from selling RVs and have always been interested in real estate investing as a way to generate income and eventually achieve time and financial freedom. 

A real estate business can also potentially generate a SOLO IRA or something like that. 

However, there are still plenty of tax benefits when it comes the income you generate from your multi-family property that you can deduct from.