For instance, in my private lending, I dont really give a numerical credit score much weight, but I absolutely look at the composition and history of the individual tradelines on a report if the borrower is a smaller outfit, such as a single member LLC or similar solopreneur-type operator.

But ultimately the responsibility lies in my hands.I jumped on a seesaw of risk hoping that the momentum would catapult my bank account into six figures only to find out the hard way that flipping houses isn’t as easy as I had predicted.This house was purchased for $64,000 with an expected rehab of $100k to $120k depending on how much work the dilapidated and neglected house needed.The midwest is lovely but the houses carry the weight of weather storms nearly a century old leading to more damage than a beginning investor could expect.The appraisal came in at $225k for my lender meaning our all-in cost would be around 85% of the sales price worst case.

How much weight do you give to the cash flow benefit of cheap debt when the property is priced above market?

Some items might hold more weight than others, but you guys should sort through that together.You also might just do the partnership deal by deal - sometimes jumping into a partnership before you have officially worked together is NOT the best idea...

Ask for its breed, weight, and name, and have them attach a picture.- Make the application part of the lease, with the stipulation that if they've lied in the application or in the lease, they can be evicted.- Tell them they have to provide documentation of the animals service / emotional support (as allowed by your local ordinances), and that they have to provide documentation that the animal is current with its inoculations, etc. as well as its local license before you'll permit the animal in the unit.- Tell them they'll have to provide you with a copy of their renter's insurance naming you as additional named insured, with a minimum of (I use $300,000) liability insurance, also before they move into the unit.It's not perfect, but it's a start toward a tenant transparency.

It does however give you a degree of independence to choose what you want to do.As your portfolio grows you'll also feel the weight of future capex responsibility more, which ironically points you to growing more cash flow through more real estate.The other issue is that you are chasing a moving goalpost.

Once you've identified what's important and what ratios to look for to evaluate a property, all future deals should be weighted against those "good" ratios/numbers - and periodically adjust to suit your goals.

But if those payments feel like dead weight, Dave Ramsey’s “debt-free” mindset could be worth revisiting.Here’s a quick story to illustrate.

I enjoy college football, video games, and lifting weights. 

I’m over weight and yes I love food so if you call me fat that’s fine because your right!