I'd hate for a temporary dip in the quality of the tenant pool to be giving my landlord "spidey sense" false alarms on account of taking an extra month or two to fill a unit.

I think the big question is how badly do you want to keep the extra $50k liquid?

This is from the BP rental calculator and is exactly what I'm wanting to see, just with extra payments each month. 

It may sound nice to pay a 5% management fee but the extra fees can add up to be more than the other company that charges 10% with no add-on fees.

I own one half, 3 bed 3 bath, and I’m currently living in and renovating it with plans to rent down the line.

Maybe the infrastructure, electrical grid, water sewer, pavement thickness on the roads, cannot handle the extra people in the area.

Three Months ago, low to mid 6's were available.Rates are going to continually fluctuate but if you have a way to earn 10+% on your capital, the TIME you are not using it is going to cost you way more than the extra .5% per year will.You are walking over dollars to save pennies if you are waiting for the perfect rate, half of the people who held out on getting mid 6's were waiting for high 5's.

If you live paycheck to paycheck and do all this you are never going to become an investor because you aren't willing to change your lifestyle now for something you can have in a few years.  

Another option is house hacking—buying a small multi-unit, living in one, and renting the rest to cut costs.

I live in Harlem but work downtown so if I have to go to the building it is not too bad after work.