Here, having a pool is never negative or neutral but you can be successful without one in certain circumstances. 

Start off with a SFH that you can get at least cash flow neutral on a long-term rental and let your education begin that way.

There may be some quick periods of no cash flow, but that should be made up at the end of the rehab... meaning make up for the loss of cash flow used for the rehab + regular cash flow, not back to neutral cash flow.

Some relatively neutral thoughts:1) APPRAISALS: they are always a challenge as lenders use APM's who assign them to the lowest cost providers.

hi everyone, thank you all SO much for your time. you've given me so much valuable insight.it seems like everyone agrees that the sleeper sofa is not a bed. helpful insight + agreed, i wouldn't want to sleep on one.synthesizing all of your great feedback, i have a follow up question:i was asked why i don't put beds in all 3 bedrooms. i am trying to balance the utility of this as somewhere that i live part time, with the utility of the rental. for my own purposes: bedroom, guest room + office. i do a lot of video calls for work, so need an office/neutral space.initial thought:maybe a quality trundle bed in 3rd bedroom that is daybed for office, + converts to sleep space for kids when it’s a rental.

I like white, neutral (like white oak) and black.  

They act as a neutral third party and are the ones who hold the proceeds and facilitate the transaction in accordance with IRS rules.

You could have reduced mortgage slightly with 30 year term and likely would reflect some small amount of positive cash flow but still I would refer to both cases as being cash neutral. 

They are drafted in such a neutral way that parties have to go to court (or mediation) even when one party has no legal ground to stand on.The contract language here essentially requires either (a) joint instructions, (b) court order, or (c) 2 years of inactivity with neither of the above occurring. 

Banking already has a pretty negative image in the US…maybe neutral at best…there’s no way that a bank is going to risk its image on a loan that already makes them TONS of money.