Your example is basically like living off capital gains by selling stocks until you have no stock.I'm looking for something that pays me dividends but increases in value over time, adjusted for inflation.... 

Here's the numbers:Single family house in NE San Antonio. 1,456 square feet, 3 bed 2.5 bathPurchase price: $105,000Rehab; $20,000Hard money loan: $112,500Cash out of pocket (From HUD stmt):$12,500 (down payment)$2,250 (points)$385 (lender fees)$892.50 (title fees)$1,320 (insurance)-$2,001.34 (credit for unpaid taxes)Total: $15,346.16Actual rehab cost: $19,678.12Hold time until rehab and refinance complete: 98 daysInterest expense: $3,020.55Refinance loan terms: 30 year adjustable rate mortgage at 5.75% interest fixed for 5 years at 85% LTV and 1 point.Appraised value: $164,500Cash-out refi amount: $139,825Cash back in my pocket after lender fees, title fees, down payment, interest expense, insurance, etc are all accounted for: $5,389.50Now the place is rented for $1,200 a month and I figure I'll pocket about $200-$300 a month after expenses and mortgage payments and in the end, no money tied up in the deal!

Working with two different professionals in two different locations will prevent either form being able to see your big picture and plan/adjust accordingly. 

Depending on what kind of ROI your looking for you may want to adjust your numbers on the maintenance and delinquency slightly higher to see if it still makes sense.

@Marcus Auerbach I have a good attorney on retainer, so I asked and there may be NJ specific law that option pmt can't be applied as down pmt -- I'll just adjust offer accordingly if that's the case.

We are currently reviewing the listing strategy with our Real Estate agent for a possible price adjustment and change in marketing."

I WANT TO BEAT THESE NUMBERS BY INVESTING IN RENTALS.ESTIMATING EXPENSES:Properties are all in the same area, are about 100 years old; (almost) all have tenants, and could do with similar amounts of minor maintenance; major issues can be identified before closing and purchase cost can be adjusted accordingly.

Personally, I’ll put my best retail price on a first contract simply because I do not know how demanding this client will be, then on second contract I adjust my price to his needs and quality.Great outcome btw.

I was just reviewing an ad I posted yesterday and think I need to adjust the gamma of a shot to make it brighter.

Another thing that may happen is your bank may only give you a 5 year fixed rate that then adjusts after the first 5 years.