If you pay off your mortgage (which is a good interest rate), you will likely burn through that cash flow as it is more accessible, AND that money isnt working for you anymore (unless you reinvested it).  

For the most part, due to interest rates, breaking the 1% cap rate still won't provide positive return after expenses.

They are short term loans, usually 6-12 months, high rate, interest only payments. 

I’ve had concerns about the crime rates so I’m trying to only buy in the better sides of town.

Other KPIs and considerations you should evaluate when talking to any lender who offered private placement of loans/notes are historic default rate, how quickly they can place your funds (do you get preference over their income funds, for example), average interest rate - borrower note rate and what is passed through to you, are loans serviced by a 3rd party servicer or in house.

We put it on the market at $3M but never got the offers we wanted, it was during the holidays and when rates were skyrocketing.

If rates come down (most likely not in 2025) you can refinance or just shovel cash-flow and pay it down quicker. 

The interest rate is not special nor is the 20% down (80% LTV).  

For an example, we Googled, "hourly rate for handyman Austin, TX" and got this:AI Overview: As of January 2025, the average hourly rate for a handyman in Austin, Texas is between $25 and $25.28.

Where to get the most recent and accurate data for things like:Unemployment dataPopulation growthJob diversity and top employers in the areaVacancy rates (eg huduser.org)Property taxes and jnsurance costsI saw bp pro and reventure and a bunch of other websites provide some of this data, but i wonder how accurate and recent it is.