However, this could limit your ability to complete a future 1031 exchange with that property. 

Landlords have limited ability to raise rents, and the market standard is that rents drop. 

And I feel the ideal portfolio can benefit from the diversification of both.I feel directly owned properties are great because they give me maximum control and the ability to tweak them exactly how I want.

In the last few years, they've made illegal:-Rent controls of any kind-Limiting of fees or screening charges-The ability of HOAs to regulate STRs or LTRs in their neighborhoodThat's just the start.

So, this is the second thread in which you've attacked my ability to do math and my integrity.  

We've started looking into real estate because we want to use our valuable time to invest in our kids as they grow and invest in our local community through volunteering, not spending all of our time working 9-5 for the next 20 years.Our goal with Bigger Pockets for this year is to determine our plan for investing, and then make our first purchase.

The only part that Property 1 pays on that loan is the escrow for property tax & insurance for Property 1.Thank you for your insight.You need to look at purchase price to determine cost basis, not how you financed the purchase.

When we moved our companies to a new accounting software we looked at Quickbooks, but found its international awareness (tax rules, multi-currency, locale support, etc), project/job, and multi-company abilities to be clunky.To be fair, none of the candidates hit everything on our wishlist.We ended-up selecting MoneyWorks by Cognito and have been satisfied with it over the past three years.

I would like to know more about ways to use OPM  The only way to determine if the home is going to cost you a lot down the road is by determining the age of the mechanical systems & if the structure of the home is sound. 

To determine price range, the first step is always figuring our how much you are pre-approved for; and that can vary significantly when you are looking at multi-unit properties because of the additional variable of rental income that can be included in qualifying.