The first couple is a no-brainer.The second group has too many people, increasing wear-and-tear on the home.

Who cares about lifetime interest costs, except to the extent you can easily lower them (refinance to a lower interest rate) to increase your cashflow.

Follow up with an email to the agent and bullet point your case, which increases the chance that the owner will actually hear them7.)

You can find SF properties that already have in law suites, garage units, etc, and now legally rent those, so it should increase the appraised value significantly.

@Tyler Kesling  Adding to the above great points, start with 2-4 units as it's standard conventional financing.  5+ units is commercial and somewhat of a different ballgame.   

Leverage is a big factor in real estate investing, as investors can control large assets with relatively small down payments, increasing their potential returns (and risks).6.

You are already paying rent, so pay it to yourself to increase cash flow and accelerate savings for the next investment. 

Purchase price: $169,000 Cash invested: $33,800 Property was recently renovated to increase the value of the property and the cashflow What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I would want to make improvements to all units and increase the rent to market value when the renovations are completed.

Here's my take on the decision:First, let’s look at the pros and cons of paying off your current short-term rental (STR):Paying Off Your STRPros:-You Eliminates your largest fixed expense (the mortgage), which increases your cash flow significantly.