However, before you do so you should ensure that your revenue from rental income covers ALL your property expenses in the townhome, including mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance/repairs, vacancy, property management, etc...

Passive income is certainly the name of the game - building a real estate portfolio and creating generational wealth are key ingredients to long term holistic financial health and success.There are fantastic real estate investment opportunities in various markets, particularly in the Midwest and Southeast of the country. 

Do the in-laws have any income currently?

However, when you combine the income from both the units, I think you will end up with more income after a year or two than with a SFH renting by the room.  

You may be required to make estimated tax payments when the property sells.It depends on what your 2024 total taxes due were and 2025 estimated total taxes / withholding / estimated payments are.If you pay in atleast 90% of the current year tax or 100% / 110%(Depending on 2024 income), you are normally considered good.You may want to consult with an accountant for more clarification.

Below is some copy & paste info about our methodology:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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?

However, I had to subordinate the sellers note to 2nd position (hint: set up that language in advance to streamline the process, if that's the direction you're going to go).Since the ARV was high enough, and the potential income would support the mortgage and expenses, it all worked out. 

At it's basic level:Assumption: Asking the bank to turn the loan over to you and going through the normal underwriting process, credit, income, DTI ratio etc SubTo: Taking over the loan without telling the bank, no underwriting, no credit check, no income verificationBoth have risks, but it's not my intent to be detailed in this post.

i wish i had better news for you but it's probably not feasible in the short term to replace your W2 income with rental income. 

And then your REI income matches your W2 income the first time etcTo your question: equity is the name of the game.