Of course my nosey self had to go look up your rental property.

Also keep in mind when I started funding investment rentals in 2002 for CA investors 100.00 a month cash flow was the goal and accepted.. and even break even or a little negative was fully acceptable in markets with historic appreciation..

Just to make sure we’re both on the same page, I’m referring to the annualized total return that is included in the bigger pockets rental calculator — I wasn’t intending to compare RE to stocks, but maybe I’m missing something in your answer.  

If the sofa bed issue becomes a recurring theme, you could look into adding extra cushioning or replacing it with a more comfortable option, as some have suggested.For long-term stability and minimizing turnover, I’ve had great success with a hybrid co-hosting model—marketing listings to insurance and corporate partners for mid-term rentals.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

Verifying last 2 years of rental history very important!

I am currently living in rental apartment and, I am looking for best strategy for first investment.  

Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

Your right it does not make sense numbers wise as a RE investment in the beginning if I put the numbers into a rental property calculator at 280k purchase price 20% down  7% interest 2500/yr insurance 3 % annually rise  5000/yr taxes with 3% annual rise $2500 maintenance 3% annual rise and then 2400 in starting rent with 3% annual rise.

and that was owner occ.. todays rates are pretty normal actually. what you can do if you want though is find a really good HML and let them place a loan for you making 10 to 12% while your wait for things to change to a situation that you feel you want to move forward be more net return than buying a rental thats for sure. of course no tax bene's but there really is not that much tax benefit on one rental.. so just some alternatives.