Like many new investors, I had little cash and no access to traditional lenders.

Short-term rentals (STRs) can generate strong cash flow, especially in tourist-heavy areas, but come with higher upfront costs, regulatory risks, and active management needs.

Obviously cash flow would be wonderful, but not necessarily needed.

Either way, the property will cash flow like crazy once my unit is rented.I have enough capital to get into a bigger property with low money down and am seriously considering a triplex or fourplex for the next one.Here’s the issue: My lender (local bank) says I need to be fully moved out and have a lease in place before they’ll proceed with my loan.

Or we gradually perform high-quality updates for a live-in flip, then roll the equity into a new home.Regarding rental income, we aim to boost income, lower our effective tax rate by generating more low tax-drag income with rental income (since there’s not much we can do to lower out W2 tax bills) and have retirement cash flow.To compare the financial impact over 10-20 years, we want to analyze renting versus flipping.

where can we find places-websites to analyze areas that will provide positive cash flow?

I'm making two assumptions here - it will take you a year to get the tenants out, and so you are cash flow negative for a year, and that year of negative cash flow is a lot less than the loss in sale price you will need to take to get it sold as-is. 

You may get better results by purchasing a duplex, triplex, or fourplex.Here's a guide that describes what good cash flow looks like and how to analyze a property.

How much cash flow is the property producing per month?

Purchase price: $300,000 Cash invested: $50,000 Purchased a 12 unit park owned mobile home park on a 5 acres.