If a borrower can afford to make monthly principal and interest payments of $1000 and the lender will make a 30 year loan at 5.5% ($5.68) , or a 20 year loan at 4.5% (about $6.40), what is the largest loan this buyer can afford?"

You will learn, get principal paydown and be able to network as an active investor   Sometimes these are more important than the numbers on a paper.I'm in Shawnee and I look for at least twice these numbers.  

Remember, these commercial loans are 20 yr amortizations and we pay down a LOT of principal in a 5 or 10 year period.  

I’ve got the age old question of whether we should sell our townhome or keep it and make it our first rental.This is my first post on BiggerPockets so please let me know if I have left out any information that may be helpful in the analysis.Single Family TownhomeBuilt: 2001Purchase Date: 2008Purchase Price: $270,000Property Tax: $5700/yearHOA: $125/monthWater/Sewer: $1320/year (Must be paid to county by home owner)Insurance: $800/yearMaintenance Costs: $400/year Other planned future costs: Roof (in about 5 years, ~$5000), water heater (in 7 years, ~$1300 including labor), water softener (in 5 years, $500)Current Mortgage (Refinanced in 2012)Term: 15Rate: 3.375%Principal: $140,000Market Value: $230,000 (Upstate NY market with minimal appreciation expected)Rental: $2000/month ($2200 possible but I want to be conservative)I was also considering refinancing to a 30 year mortgage to help with cash flow but I’m not sure if it is worth the $4000-5000 in closing costs to refinance.Normally I would not consider this a good rental property because of the low/negative cash flow.

However, if you want to avoid all risk to your principal there aren't a ton of better options than savings accounts and CDs.

You'll make 36 mortgage payments during that time and since it's towards the start of a loan cycle, less goes to principal pay-down.

This number does not include other returns like appreciation, principal payments by tenants and tax write offs.

You could use this to pay down some principal on the 11.25% private loans or save for down payments.

I got the deal with seller carrying note for 12 months at $1,000 a month principal only, no interest, and tenant pays $1,200 a month so having him stay and pay is not a bad option but he is constantly late on paying so I could have the eviction option after I give the 60 day to evict, but the yard is full of cars and trailers and if he can move those out it will save me money as well and he will be paying down the loan each month, but games can start if I wait or hold off.

So, I would use the principal balance of the loan owed to you minus what you owe @Donald Dickerson , if anything.Hope this helps.