Cash flow will provide you with a steady income and a safety net for any unexpected expenses, which is especially important when starting out.

TL;DR* Aggressively pushing 'maintenance' and for the most part for things not requiring any maintenance* In-house maintenance rates are eye-watering, way higher than what you'd see in even most expensive markets* Maintenance does not require owner's approval - RL reserves decision what to do when, cheaper plans have higher limits and all are at RL's discretion * Refuses to manage in many parts of townLonger versionSigned up for their service after a few conversations over the phone - owner stressed investor-friendly approach.

It's also super expensive if you aren't in the fold for deal flow and simply going out with an agent to look at properties. 

If the property is held in an LLC and the P/L runs through a business on your taxes you wouldn't get hit with it because the business is paying those expenses. 

I've included an example below to help illustrate this.So different lenders have different rates (which do vary even for DSCR loans) but these are factors they all consider.See example below:DSCR < 1Principal + Interest = $1,700Taxes = $350, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $50Total PITIA = $2200Rent = $2000DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2000/2200 = 0.91Since the DSCR is 0.91, we know the expenses are greater than the income of the property.DSCR >1Principal + Interest = $1,500Taxes = $250, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $25Total PITIA = $1875 Rent = $2300DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2300/1875 = 1.23If a purchase, you also generally need reserves / savings to show you have 3-6 month payments of PITIA (principal / interest (mortgage payment), property taxes and insurance and HOA (if applicable).

If you are raising less than $1-$2M then putting a syndication together is going to be expensive compared to what you get out of it. for a few properties i would try and go the hard money route.

If you have commercial experience and are an excellent asset manager (managing the property manager, driving revenue, reducing expenses,  managing GCs)You wont just provide value to a sponsorYou will be highly sought-after after by sponsorship groups.The ones worth their salt know how incredibly valuable a strong asset manager is (and how much work it takes)So if you can bring that skillset, I have a feeling it won't take long for you to find a sponsorship team. 

Might be tough from area to area, but I typically find that homes built before 1950 that were converted from single to multi family are 9 times out of ten - a full gut rehab and way too expensive for first timers.

Just make sure you’ve got a backup in place for any unexpected expenses that might pop up—trust me, they can happen.

Additional strategies include cost segregation to maximize deductions and writing off rental expenses like mortgage interest, property taxes, and maintenance.If those are not your options, you can do passive tax planning like wealthy people do.