To me it screams Newbie fresh out of a guru seminar.

You and your acct. need to run the calcs but a fed tax bill on this of $30K - $35K is not out of the question.I'm totally with you on the desire to pay off primary (I can hear the anguished screams of the "must use all equity" clan right now).  

I only buy screaming bargains, keep them up, try to get good tenants and keep rates below market so good tenants don't ever want to leave.  

We understand it will take a fair amount of work and require a hospitable effort to ensure happy renters and repeat visitors. 

He doesnt seem to have a firm handle of things at times, and today one of the contractors (there are 2 different ones on site at the moment) heard him screaming outside that he was going to burn the place down.

Is that the real estate downturn, or the oil downturn, gold downturn, silver, hog bellies or whatever they're trading an hour or so south of me in Chicago  . . . and of course for all of those downturns, you can find the exact opposite predictions from SOMEONE for anything and literally you could spend all of 2017 watching non stop youtube videos, listening to "financial whiz" podcasts and interviews, there's the screaming "I'm bald but refuse to do the shave your whole head trend since I'm too busy screaming about stocks all of the time" stock dork on CNBC or wherever he is (maybe MSNBC-oh wait, they've got the entire on air staff on 24/7 suicide watch since the election results came in at MSNBC) Anyway, point is that you can literally find someone pushing ANY prediction and what is also very troubling is that MANY who push the "downturn" scenarios and ESPECIALLY the "major downturn" or even the incredible # of "global economic collapse is any day now, might even be tomorrow!!"

If that were the case every house on the market would be a screaming good deal.

I originally estimated  $10K-$15K in renovations, what turned out to be around $35K, so you never really understand the cost until you're in there, dirt under your nails and at the verge of screaming because of contractors. 

It really works better when you buy with cash, or OPM.And when your working with bigger numbers,and finding a screaming deal.

Oh, I can add one more to  the list, benefit of having own properties to visit or take a vacation (well I'm in Hawai'i) on occasion I'd like to visit snow, but only for a week.