All of the comments are spot on for things to consider. 

- Hi @Sunny WuThanks for sharing your challenge... it’s a tricky spot, but one that many landlords face.

Build a solid foundation before taking a step up - each and every step of the way.There’s a way to scale recklessly and there is a way to scale safely.When OPM is involved safe is way better than reckless.Despite a life long career in RE, I scaled as followsBought a few duplexes for my own accountBought a fourplex for my own accountBought 12 units as a JV with some friendsSyndicated 43 unitsSyndicated 30 unitsBought another 12 units as a JVSyndicated 281 unitsThis was over a 3 or 4 year period.and so forth - now I am GP in close to 1000 units with $125M AUM.Even with all that, my sweet spot is 30 to 50 unit properties - they work best for my partners and I and more importantly our investors. 

As long as you stay invested and let your hard earned capital continue to grow, you can pick your spots when a real estate opportunity offers outsized returns comparatively to other investments. 

I've bought a ton of homes pre-foreclosure and at auction, happy to be a resource on that stuff, plus we just launched Bid Pirate, which is the one place online for NH, where you can see all the upcoming foreclosure auctions in one spot - you can learn a lot from the regulars at the auctions........ get after it, sister!

Lesson learned.You’re also spot on about the equity.

I'm Pedro, from Lisbon but I live and work in Switzerland for some years.I'm interested in RE, and I wanted to start investing in Lisbon or some spots in Algarve.I'll be in Portugal on vacations, during August.

He wanted me to paypal him 750 so that he would send the 20k needed to bridge the gap in the loan.The easiest way to spot a red flag is to start with going through a title company. hopefully you did nto give this person your social security number or other private information.

Johnson City could be a great spot for STRs, especially if you focus on hospital staff rotations, visiting professors, or traveling professionals, which would balance out any seasonal dips in tourism.For STRs, consider targeting weekend travelers exploring the Appalachian Trail, Boone Lake, or local festivals.

He knows what he is talking about and he is spot on.