keep looking and don't give up. when you say you're trying to 'match' your current monthly expense of $3K, I'm assuming you're saying that you're hoping to pay $3K net against the mortgage after collecting rent - is that correct?

This benefits me, because I'll still collect the rental payment and have the ability to evaluate the tenant before anything more long term is signed.

Good luck collecting rents, keeping tenants, and trying to appreciate.

This is where we have collected the data for analysis.

Real estate continues to be high where I am located and when I calculate the mortgage payment with 20% - 25% down, it only breaks even with the rent I could collect. 

They could be real properties or people just collecting emails to add to a "off market list". 

For me it is not a big deal but for some it would be devastating not to collect payments for 12 + months if you had not planned for it.  

100% go with one lease to a group instead of individual leases to four different students.If you get one lease, you get to collect one rent payment.

The problem is taking them collectively results in new problems for our lot...the three solutions work when you look at just one of our shared lines, but when you look at all three the math falls apart...my surveyor will have to take their collective work, his new field investigation and then apply his own good theories, and hopefully our property is the missing piece in the puzzle for how to resolve this.I share that because those three surveyors are all names I or my boss know, and do good work.

Would rather hold to collect rent with depreciation write offs and build wealth than sell to pay capital gains