@Josh OteroThe hardest part for me was being flexible with my tenants and realizing all these people are living paycheck to paycheck.

You can look into switching to a local credit union or portfolio lender, as they tend to be more flexible with regional policies.

That gets worse as you get farther out of the cityTLDR: values depreciate, inflation has gone basically nowhere in Japan for a long time, the supply of housing is pretty good compared to demand (unlike the US) and that's because of flexibility with rezoning and development, taxes on rental income are high. 

While some buyers may shy away from the 7.125% interest rate, others who are familiar with the "Subject-To" strategy or are more flexible on financing terms may see it as an opportunity to acquire a property with decent equity and no need to qualify for traditional financing.

This can give you flexibility for purchasing or even renovating the next property.

From what I've heard, local banks are sometimes more flexible than the big guys.A buddy of mine managed to snag a HELOC on his rental property, which isn't always straightforward, but it opened doors for him.

Unlike traditional banks and credit unions, we don't face the same constraints, allowing us to offer more flexibility.

Electric: is the easiest to split, but may require holes cut in walls to separate the units.Gas: gas lines aren't as flexible as wires, but it can usually be done affordably.Water: most cities will NOT install additional water meters on a property.

Diversifying between real estate, liquid investments, and passive income strategies will help maximize returns while preserving flexibility.

I've seen many people suggest a cash out refi but I like the flexibility of the heloc.