if a property I buy and bring up to rent ready standards then starts cash flowing..." - it's not going to. 

This helps keep me out of hot water with fairhousing. 

There's a few different ways to focus on a lower rate such as with house hacking and making the investment your primary residence, requesting a significant closing credit from the sellers for standard rate buy-downs (which I've had great success with recently), or utilizing lenders who offer short term rate lowering solutions such as 2-1 rate buy downs (again, ideally paid for by the sellers).

So act quickly, do as the others are saying and screen him according to your standard criteria. credit, references, eviction history, etc.

any advice on paying mortgage off or faster With a standard mortgage, your monthly payment will remain the same for the life of the loan.

Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

@Thomas FarrellRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

One misstep and you could be in hot water. 

@Jemini LeckieRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

In Oceanside, New non-hosted STRs are prohibited outside of the Coastal Zone as of February 10, 2024.Most HOA's do not allow rentals less than 30 days so that is likely not an option unless you find a couple of places on the water that allow it but usually tough to find below $1M.