Hi @Rhea Jeong,The situation you're describing is actually pretty common, especially for first-time investors looking to maximize their purchasing power.You’re correct that some lenders will consider a portion of the rental income when determining how much you can borrow, typically in the 75-80% range especially for FHA loans.

Family holds a light industrial property that has been leased to the same large utility company since the 80s and has never had a commission associated with the lease.  

This scenario is extremely common and while I exaggerated numbers for effect, I have had this conversation with clients and their CPAs and the client is usually surprised when you put the numbers on paper. 

Put up signs to let them know cameras are in the area and let each tenant know that you put up cameras for extra security and that they are only in common areas.

Take your monthly rental income and then subtract ALL your monthly expenses: Mortgage, Interest, Taxes, Insurance, Property management, utilities, vacancy factor, maintenance/repairs, etc...

I can see a scenario where I take on the risk of a high interest rate and less flexible terms for 5 years, so I can access my cash sooner if that option is there.Jephte, you can utilize a DSCR loan here.

Buying 5 single family homes is likely going to be a lot of work and there are other assets that cash flow better and are more liquid.He also has the ability to 1031 his equity into passive investments (which is a common strategy for property owners who are retiring).  

We have recently split the PLP meter so that the tenant would be responsible for there own utilities ( gas & elec) just like the other 2 tenants. #1 Can a tenant have all these programs making payments on their behalf?

Utilizing loan down payment owner occupied financing.

This should have already been a common practice, but because of the commission structure before the NAR settlement, lots of agents did not execute contracts with buyers in order to gain them as clients.