A good rule of thumb is to have at least $5 to $10K in reserves per unit to cover these situations and avoid financial strain.Thank you for the reply and help!

AssetsAsk yourself: Do I want cash that depreciates with inflation and taxes, or do I want to build wealth?

I wish I could go back and have all my loans with my local credit union who keeps them in-house to avoid all this. 

Agree on the advice their are sharks out there that are very good praying on people with various scams each month a new one pops up so avoid the housing market right now .In the mean time invest in a index fund that follows a benchmark like a S&P 500 each month/week put more money in when you are at a age that father wisdom has visited make small moves into the housing market .

Also, how does one assess whether or not one can turn a profit after paying principal/interest, insurance, and taxes each month?

I wish I had another work around for you, but I actually stopped using my business CC all together just to avoid the PITA "hacks" they offered as solutions. 

We have every one of our managed properties enrolled in these services to avoid utility shutoff damages.

I have made my own list of leads as well with some properties that I find vacant, probate, tax lien. but have only helped an out of state realtor on a deal a yr ago. and 2025 I would like to have the right people to go to with questions and or properties when I talk/find home owners that are willing to get rid of the property as well. 

Rents have been pretty close to what the housing authorities advertise, sometimes even a bit higher.Fort Wayne’s a solid spot with low taxes and good cash flow—definitely worth looking into.

From tax stand point I would think you can separate from primary and be okay with IRS being that IRS will not be local code enforcement.