The more people who open it and stand in front of it for air conditioning or thinking about giving the dog a piece of chicken the harder it runs, the shorter it's life.Your picky tenant will never be happy.

It should be easy to refinance in ten years when you will owe 1/2 to 1/3 the value of the property.In this case I would go for the shorter term and lower interest rate.

Unless you plan to pay cash for your properties, get pre-qualified for an investor loan, so you will know how much credit you will have access to.The end goal - This is usually something like $10,000/Mo. income, in present value dollars.Time frame - The shorter your time frame to reach your goal, the more initial capital and credit you will need.If you decide buying an investment property is the right option, the most important decision is the location.

It seems like you can transition in shorter than 15 years.

One of the biggest reasons he recommended this is to preserve ceiling height in the basement which is already a bit shorter than I'd like.

If it's leases it would be interesting to hear how they are structured, especially if these groups are coming for shorter trips.

Banks typically have shorter term debt on anything over 4 units meaning that you will need to refinance or sell after 5-12 years.

Telas employees are not going to get a significant raise in lifestyle with nicer housing and shorter commute.. 

If you are applying for a conventional mortgage the guideline states "A minimum history of 2 years of commission income is recommended; however, commission income that has been received for 12 to 24 months may be considered as acceptable income, as long as there are positive factors to reasonably offset the shorter income history"So less than 2 years is possible. 

You'll either trade some yield for a longer term lease with a stronger tenant, or build in more reserves for a weaker tenant and shorter term lease.