Its going to be a big house. 5 bedrooms and a office and bonus room.

If they end up appreciating a bit, great that can be a bonus, but for the most part I just want solid middle of the road cash flow investments that will be beneficial over time and just want to make sure I don't do something stupid over 6K in the mean time - Pennies wise, pound foolish indeed

They will have to work in my office.I am looking at paying them a small hourly rate and then a bonus.

My last employer compensated me well, but bonuses and extras were always in stocks.

Currently the attic space is split between the two units, but I plan to close it off from one side, and make it a bonus room / bedroom for the other unit (hence the higher rent for that one).Once completed and rented, I will do a cash-out refi to obtain my optimal ROI numbers (I paid all cash for the house and will probably use a home equity line of credit to do the renovations).

One more bonus: Outside of Texas, this is the fastest growing metropolitan area in the South (part of the reason I think rentals are so strong here)... there are literally thousands of new homes going up in new construction, and overall.. the real estate market is excellent here.

I think we could live a comfortable life on $25-30K a year, not counting a paid off home…so that is my goal income…with anything extra being a bonus.

The above provisions relating to Landlord's right to terminate the Lease and relating to the allocation of bonus rent are independently negotiated terms of the Lease which constitute a material inducement for the Landlord to enter into the Lease, and are agreed by the parties to be commercially

Cash flow is the bread and butter, but appreciate is always a bonus.

Since you are going to be flipping the house, the added SF should be seen as a bonus and their the tax burden will fall on the new owner.