My goal of refinancing was simply lowering our monthly spending to reallocate towards future investments.

Who cares about lifetime interest costs, except to the extent you can easily lower them (refinance to a lower interest rate) to increase your cashflow.

And would this be considered "capital gains" since it's re-sold under 1-year therefore having to pay a large % of tax on the profit?

I’ve read quite a few posts about foreign investor financing but most seem to deal with non-citizen investors without US credit or personal tax filings.

I always invested in the “higher end of the lower end,” starting small and working my way up so the banks had no issues financing my next property.

You want to make sure the seller is getting their fair side of the deal but especially from a tax perspective, there are ways in which you can make it very lucrative for them.

The Numbers:Cash Flow Analysis: Investors typically look for properties that will generate positive cash flow—meaning the income from rent covers the property’s expenses (mortgage, taxes, maintenance, etc.) and then some.

Keep in mind tax's.

Lower interest rate at 12% is $8,400 year ($42K for 5 years) plus his initial investment of $70K equals $112K.

I utilize a PO Box as well.It wouldn't be hard for our tenants to find out where we live (tax assessor's online tool) ~ But for $50/yearly ... it gives me a bit more piece of mind :)