I live in a very desirably town in upstate NY, refinanced at a super low rate, so will keep the house as a rental.

But in a market like yours, is there substantial difference between high and slow season rates?

I had a “lender” tell me he’d give me a personal loan with a fixed 4% rate on a 30 year term at whatever amount I wanted because he would like to “build a relationship” with me. 

Life is on easy street when rates are 2% or I.O. 

In reality this strategy still works, but we are having to leave more of our own money in the deal because prices are high and/or rent won’t justify maxing the cash out refinance because interest rate is high.

@Arshiya Taami yes, you could potentially keep the great rate in the #% range that you have and tap in to the equity with a 2nd loan of up to around 80% to use for the down payment funds you are looking for.

The experience was really bad as I was getting 1-2 year old leads to cold call that I knew had a 0% success rate and I do much better generating leads organically on my own.

A FHA 203k Loan is where the purchase price and rehab costs are rolled into a single loan.Assuming you have a respectable FICO you can buy, with a FHA Loan (3-5% down, a 30 year amortization schedule, and a residential loan rate) AND because you closed personally, you will not have Asset Protection, in the form of closing in the name of a LLC/ LLC taxed as an S Corp, or an S Corp.

It's crucial to choose a market with steady job growth, low vacancy rates, and tenant demand.

Interest rates are not coming down anytime soon.