This creates two loan payments ($100,000 of equity and $300,000 on the new mortgage).Key NumbersHome Equity Loan Interest Rate: 6%Mortgage Interest Rate: 7%Rental Income: $3,000 per monthExpenses (management, taxes, insurance, maintenance): $800 per monthIncome and ExpensesMonthly Rental Income: $3,000Monthly Expenses: $800Monthly Mortgage Payment: $2,000ExplanationThe investor earns $3,000 in rent each month.They pay $2,000 on the investment property mortgage and $800 on other expenses.This leaves $200 profit each month or $2,400 per year.However, you have to pay $6,000 interest on the equity borrowed.This leaves you with an annual loss of $3,600.While the rental property generates positive monthly income, the interest cost of borrowing the initial $100,000 results in an overall loss.

A common mistake in my area is to ignore Hotel Occupancy Tax.

Congratulations, you get to share your partners tax burden and pay the depreciation recapture at ordinary income rates. 

@Lexi Blocksom If the burden of holding the property outweighs the long-term gains, a 1031 exchange allows you to defer all taxes, and you won’t have to recapture depreciation.This option enables you to use the deferred tax benefits to purchase nicer properties in areas with greater growth potential.Once you complete your exchange, you can immediately do a cash-out refinance if you need access to some cash, tax-free.

Real estate has so many tax benefits and credits available, that I always tell people it's crucial to have a CPA that's extremely knowledgeable in this area.

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

Your total project cost is only ~ $143k. 3c) Your interest rate is probably going to be in the low to mid 7s, at least4) All states/areas are different, but I usually see with my CFO clients that their property taxes are higher than their insurance, with taxes often 1.5x higher than insurance.5) Lastly, I saw PM fee of 8%, are you paying someone else to manage this?

And you now have to file three tax returns:- partnership tax return- your individual tax return reporting 1/2 of the partnership losses- your partner's individual tax return reporting their 1/2 of the partnership lossesAnd while partnership return can be DIY-ed, it probably should not be.

I'd say the biggest landmine to watch out for is our property taxes.

Unlike other investments, it provides passive income, tax advantages, and the potential for appreciation.