My hope would also be that the expected rise in rents would improve my cash-flow on this property in the future (and that the Phoenix area appreciates like many expect – icing on the cake).I have access to a $250k private money loan at 8%.

My 2 sons play hockey and lacrosse and are of High School age. 

The cash flow is just the icing on the cake, the real prize is the equity that it creates.

I recently signed a 2 year contract to play professional hockey in the area but as a Canadian I think it gives me some drawbacks and I'm curious if anyone out there has any prior experience.I have a SSN, as well as a fresh credit score (6mo of credit history and will be 9mo by end of September). 

These are popular spots for winter getaways for cross country skiing, snowmobiling, ice fishing and other winter sports.

We also added an ice maker, as the water line is already in place, and I didn't want their kids traipsing around the kitchen carrying full ice trays. 

It’s just plain hot out there and we can mitigate all we can and at the end of the day, if your clients keep it ice cold in there, it’s going to be expensive.  

The property is good shape with updated plumbing, huge open kitchen space with two stoves, DW, fridge and completely separate ice maker (next to the second stove).

What many people ignore is that you can get deals in Mexico whereby you can get a higher return on investment if you pay cash for the property then if you were buying a property in the US with a mortgage. a nice by-product of that is that it's much less risky.That might not be your case if you buy a lifestyle property but then, you get an additional ROI in terms of your enjoyment of the property and, as icing on the cake, you get the capital gain whether you rent or not.

@Jayden Espinosa   I agree with @Theresa Harris  --negative cashflow on a property would put you on thin ice (particularly if you're just starting out and don't have a massive portfolio and stack of cash to fall back on).If it makes you feel any better, a LOT of folks (myself included) are in a similar position to yours right now--they have an excellent interest rate and are experiencing the "lock in effect" (where it doesn't make much sense to exit one property that has a low rate just to jump to another property with a much higher rate).Because of this, a lot of folks are choosing to sit on the sideline for a bit to see what plays out over the next 3-12 months.