In a nutshell, here is the deal: the IRS requires that you treat at least some minimal portion of the interest-free payments as interest.

@Paul Wurster, sorry for such a delayed reply and yes, I agree with you. 

I’m wondering how common of a problem squatting is in the Cleveland area, and what strategies can be used to minimize the chances of it happening.

I ask because if it were bought 8/22 and it just sold , thats almost 1 year . even if you did minimal improvements and had minimal carrying costs , plus real estate commissions , that doesnt sound like swift profits .This almost sounds like an ad for Brittany Scandra I am very familar with Pasadena 

Time to recover investment: around 10 years if I rent it for $1700 - paying cash.Cons:Impact on Primary Residence: Construction can be disruptive, foundation is old, and having tenants nearby might affect privacy.Time to cash: The rental income will be delayed by at least 6 months as I'm building the ADU.Tenant risk: California is tenant friendly and eviction can be difficult.

Start with a property that requires minimal renovations to keep things manageable.

Because households are smaller today vs 20 yrs ago due to delay in marriage and child bearing smaller units are in more demand because of need and affordability.   

Sounds like that lender is talking about delayed financing, so I'm assuming you bought the property less than 12 months ago.

So I for one think the 30k number in 20 years is a very realistic number to have to live a very nice lifestyle as long as you have no debt or minimal debt. health insurance auto insurance TAx on your home and utls food clothing etc is going to run folks at least 5 to 7k a month.. so what great life is one going to have on 3k a month.

We have an LLC registered but haven't had much activity in it, so I was always thinking of starting a small-scale Real Estate Consulting where we could offer the afore-mentioned services for a minimal fee.