Also, for flips, I like to reserve an additional 15-20% in contingency for unforeseen conditions or changes. 

So you just need to look at that additional $2000 - $3000 of interest each year as really being 1000 - $2000 of total new expense to your after the tax deduction.3.  

@Michael Baum @Grant Woodward @John Underwood @Bruce Woodruff @Terry Ouimet   @Andrew Street @Patricia Andriolo-Bull @Andrew Steffens @Jake Baker Appreciate all the valuable input from your experience!  

While those are all considerations and options you have a license and skill that is incredibly valuable to anyone who wants to transition into real estate full time....the ability to charge for your time.

By being physically present, you can gain valuable insights into the property's operations, interact with residents, and assess the team's performance.

Here are a few ideas to explore that might help you get closer to homeownership in San Diego without selling:Cash-Out Refinance:Refinancing one or both of your El Centro properties could free up additional cash for a down payment without selling.

Additionally, there’s always a risk that any pet-related damages could be hidden under furniture or otherwise concealed, potentially leaving us to cover the costs if the security deposit is fully depleted by other expenses (e.g., damages or unpaid rent).

The cons as i see it include loosing the 2 of 5 year cap gain exception, typically not an ideal rental because the emphasis at purchase was buying a good home for your family and not a rental with optimal return (my ex-home consistently has the lowest cash flow for equity in my RE portfolio), not disconnected enough from the property causes addition angst on damage and may result in over improvement.  

On the positive side, it seems like you have a good potential BRRRR that you can use to purchase additional properties.

Additionally, collecting the tenant’s portion of the rent (not covered by Section 8) can be difficult.3.