My advice would be, if you truly want to learn the business, lease it up, refinance, pull some money out, and go on to the next one.

I use apartments.com, so the money didn't end up in my account until 1/6/25.Is this considered income for 2024 or 2025? 

Found this property through our local online foreclosure auction site.

. 😉  Lack of investment capital (money) ought never be the obstacle because if the deal is right, the money will always appear.Then, you’ll need great data sources both for identifying opportunities and confirming the facts.

You are LOSING money because you didn't even raise rents to cover those increases!

Quote from @Joel Oh: Your business must make money day 1.It is so much more difficult to fix the model that is not making money than starting a new business that makes money day 1. 

Probably going to be a check.Smart contractors are starting to understand that convenience matters to customers and being able to take different methods of payment can help them collect their money.

If you wanted to fund a portion of the down payment would you suggest a hard money lender, personal loan, etc.?

You can get a HELOC if there is equity in the property most likely, which there should be since you own it in cash, but you will just be decreasing your pay out and then may end up short in repair money, depending on how much it is worth.

Do you have money set aside?