Then you have to take responsibility for maintenance.You can rent a comparable home for $3,000 and the landlord handles maintenance.It makes sense to rent for a year or more until prices balance and you can save $1,000 a month towards a down payment in the future.

I normally look to buy units at a 20-30% discount compared to the area and develop a business plan to create equity via forced apprecation, primarily on commercial properties (5+ unit multifamily).

But I've bought now 4 houses in my life (a small pittance compared to a serious 'investor') - so I come at this Q from the 'retail' side. 

Hi Jayson, In some cases it can be a great decision.Take a look at the cost of capital the HELOC or refinance is going to give you compared to what you are looking at now.Also look at the income generated/write offs/appreciation that a rental property is going to give you.If it is going to yield you positive results, I say go for it!

I only have experience with my previous tax professional as an investor, so I have nothing else to compare this to.

Cash out refinances are also an option but no DSCR or alt products for PR at the moment.The rates were actually very comparable to mainland. 

I cannot see how build two, say, 1200 sq ft houses with two roofs, two foundations, presumable about 25-30% more windows and siding is going to be cheaper a duplex that might have a little extra fireblocking and soundproofing.Now, maybe your GC is thinking that detached homes tend to get higher rent than comparably sized and finished duplexes.  

It seems like the number of STR over there is very high which is hard to compete with but compared to other strong vacation markets like Smoky Mountains or Florida beaches the prices are still decent.  

I have actually seen someone buy a multi-million dollar home just to tear it down, so I understand the sentiment on infinite money in some cases, this is more of the 3 unit building near the city at an outrageous price compared to properties almost 1.5x as large.

I've had some intake calls and 25% seems to be agreeable when compared to competitors.Do you have a minimum that you charge per month to cover fixed costs?