Add maintenance/cap ex, vacancy, PM, misc and this is likely negative more than $500/month even if self managed (much more than the negative $200 that you indicate you are ok with) 2) if you are behind on mortgage, how are you going to handle being negative $200/month, or more like negative $500/month?

All you need is a single place to track tenant information, payment history, maintenance, and a few other things.

Ask a home inspector for their mold guy if you don't have one already.If these are otherwise high maintenance tenants: offer them the opportunity to break the lease and move out with no penalty (besides damages, of course).

Spending more than 100 hours and more than anyone else, or substantially all the time in the business.So if you own an STR and meet the test, you can set up a tax deduction machine.Some issues -- You have to count your time, and the time other people work in the biz (cleaning, maintenance, etc..)- If use the property more than 15 days or 10% of the time it becomes a residenceI suspect this is part of why the STR trend has picked up so greatly amongst professionals working in tech.

Income Late fee Gross rent Expenses Advertising Cleaning Gardening/lawn mowing Insurance Interest on loan(s) property tax Legal expenses Pest control Property agent fees/commission Repairs and maintenance Water charges Electric Bill Total expenses Net rental income or (loss)

Las Vegas's average annual population increases by 40,000 to 50,000 per year.

Annual return is 12% and you get your principal back after 3 years I believe. 

My take: Gather intel on the area (neighborhoods, tenant demand, property management), have a game plan for your numbers (cash flow, maintenance reserves), and adapt as you go.

You’re asking for less than 4% annual appreciation to get over 20% equity.

One more I can add is the note investor who thought that holding the note gave him the right to determine how the subject property was managed, with approval of tenants, leases, and maintenance contracts.