Think about how much your time is worth and whether you truly plan to build a solid, sustainable portfolio.

You're losing $24,000/year which is not sustainable but on the other hand, you'll lost money after commissions and closing costs if you can only sell it for $1.2M.

FHA has a "self sustainability" guideline on 3 and 4 unit properties -- this means the property itself needs to generate enough income from of the other 2 or 3 units (other than the one you're living in) to cover the carrying-costs of the property 100% (mtg, taxes, insurance, PMI). 

Hey BP Community,I recently purchased my first property in Milwaukee, and I am currently performing sustainable upgrades on the home with the hopes of renting it soon.

I am curious for those who have done single family new construction whether or not you chose to invest in any sustainable design or construction strategies for your projects, or if you specifically chose not to.

I just heard the opposite about LV as well as California, with frothiness in both markets and sustainability in question.

Many rush in with no reserves or sustainability.

Add in that I share about the same about of annual income ($37k before taxes), so your story definitely resonates with me that frugality will make REI possible.

Sustainability (because we're a nation that imports more than we export and shipping empty containers to China takes fuel) might be another reason, but by the time all the holes are cut in the steel frame and the container has been modified to live in, the embodied energy in that little container (even after taking shipping into account) is probably higher than FSC-certified stick frame construction.  

It is hard to predict it but if you are trying, why not choose a city that has tons of jobs continuing to move there as well as a 50 year history of sustained growth.