I am researching my first deal in town (a foreclosure), and hoping to slowly but surely acquire properties for cash flow and retirement security. 

If maintaining cash flow is your primary objective, you might want to explore other options.

Most of the time, we resolve the situation in less than three months through cash-for-keys agreements, court mediation, or by creating enough pressure that the tenants decide to leave on thier own.We currently manage over 700+ units and flip about 20 multifamily properties a year, the majority of which have inherited tenant problems.

We have invested in mobile home and multi-family syndications, and we want to diversify into a different segment with good cash flow and some growth opportunities.

Just ensure the agreement is clear and formalized.Pooling reserves across properties might make sense if you’re confident in your cash flow and other contingencies.

If the insurance isn't done properly, it's on the edge of impossible to cash the check because it's made out to the lender, my company, and the seller(s). 

Quote from @Erick Pena: A "good" rental property is one that covers all expenses (mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, property management fees, and any other costs) and still leave a surplus (commonly referred to as cash flow).Calculate cash flow as: Cash Flow = Rental Income − Operating Expenses − DebtThere's much more to it, but that's the basic idea.

We are BRRRRing it and we’re originally going to rent traditionally, however we decided to look into it as an Airbnb, and when we put in current loan rates which will be near or at 7% when we are ready, we’d only cash flow about $150 a month 😱, but as an Airbnb our projections are around $1,300 cash in our pockets monthly. 💰 At this point is a no brainer 🧠 and we know if it doesn’t work out or we don’t like doing it we can always revert to a traditional rental. 

By "Tax Loss" I mean that it is likely that without depreciation your property is cash flow positive.If you Materially Participate in the management of your portfolio of rental properties, that loss will be treated as Non-passive, and will flow through to page one of your Form 1040 tax return.  

Thanks for the feedback; some quick stats: 9 doors across 4 states, about 50% LTV ratio with a Net Income of about 17% and cash on cash of about 3%.....in fairness those numbers include some overall business expenses not tied directly to one specific property.