But Gino can you pay your credit cards every month or do you have to carry a balance ?

Driving them deeper into debt with claims of big money is a sad way to make a living. 

Over the past few years, my wife and I have worked hard to improve our financial health—we’ve raised our credit scores above 800, paid off all debt except for our mortgage and student loans, and saved a fair amount.

This is a solid, predictable income stream.Low debt: With only 7 years left on the loan, you're close to owning it free and clear, which will significantly boost cash flow.Diversification: Keeping the fourplex provides diversification alongside your other investments and W2 income.Local market knowledge: You likely have a good understanding of the local market after 10 years of ownership.STR potential: Michigan has some attractive STR markets, especially in tourist areas.

The more leverage (debt) that is applied to a property or deal, the more cost savings you will get up front relative to the equity you put in.Let's say you buy a $10 MM dollar deal that has $3 MM of year one depreciation.If you used $7m of bank debt and only $3m of equity, your year 1 deduction will equal the amount of money you put into the deal!

We all started at some point.Bring business cards.

I did not further the misinformation and when I was asked for a business card I informed the tenant I don't have one.

i just have to be really, really patient.i will say though that i am actually heartened when a new investor does some math and figures out, correctly, that a miscellaneous deal with conventional debt will NOT cash flow. 

Some lenders may still offer 10% down, but they might require strong compensating factors such as excellent credit, higher reserves, or a low debt-to-income (DTI) ratio.The requirement for 12 months of reserves is common with jumbo loans right now, especially in Southern California, where property values are high.2.

You will get all the 'credit' for the debt that they incur but not of the income.