Have a robust cash reserve to handle unexpected vacancies, repairs, or market shifts.Good luck, and I’m excited to hear how your journey progresses!

He bought the property pre COVID, so his cash flow is definitely going to be different than what mine will be.The question I'm wondering if its a good idea and if the numbers make sense.Purchase Price: $100,000Down payment: $20,000 (20%)Current cashflow: $900Property manager: $90 (10%)His expense for 12 months was only $1,430 (inspections, repairs, management, eviction services). 

From everything I hear the costs exponentially grow when a PM hires out your repairs/maintenance compared to the cost of you source the work yourself.

(Be sure to factor in vacancy, PM fees, maintenance, etc in addition to PITI)•Do you have additional reserves to cover unexpected expenses like long than expected vacancies, high turnover costs, or major repairs (e.g., HVAC or roof replacements)?

I use Executive Villas and they just charged me $500 to repair some table legs and replace the batteries on a remote.

I had a full inspection and there were some minor repairs done before the tenant moved in. 

A HELOC will not allow you to deduct I believe on the interest unless the money is utilized for repairs on your primary residence and not to buy another home. 

Maybe have a decent sized pool of cash to take care of the occasional roof repair or personal expense, but almost entirely in real estate?

They had been keeping the account a month ahead and one month, about 10 days after depositing, flagged it as fraud to get it back because they were short in cash.

Milwaukee rents continue to go up, we are now the 3rd most competitive market in the US, ahead of NY and LA..