And, moreover, except for 2021 - early 2023, that has been the norm for the last 10 years.

Except the fear of course.. 

Aloha Julian, Just to add onto what everyone has said, 1-4 unit deals (residential) are typically underwritten differently from 5+ unit deals (commercial). 1-4 units are easier to close and you get more money for them because of how DSCR is calculated:- Residential (1-4 units) DSCR = Gross Rents/Mortgage Payment- Commercial (5+ units) DSCR = Net Operating Income/Mortgage PaymentIt's important to note that in both cases above, there are exceptions.

I am open to other ideas, except house-hacking, which we would rather not do. 

If the property is a borderline STR and there are other properties to support short term rents you might be able to use STR rents instead with an exception 

There is an exception where you also provide substantial services, where it would then be reported on schedule C.If your accountant is unsure, why stay with them?

I have invested in several (3 to be precise), except a single deal which they screwed up returns after nearly three years of mis-management.

This is basically a possible framework for my semi retirement.  5 year plan Assumptions-My own company is building everything (except electric) and cost savings can be opportunistic on overstocks, returns etc, but my cost assumptions don’t include any savings here.

Thank youStaton As long as it was advertised and available to rent you can deduct it.The only exception is if you had personal use above 14 days in that year.

They have some really exceptional high loan amount investor loans worth considering.