Sorry for the tough love, but not buying the above.You & your wife's salaries should cover your expenses, while the income from your remodeling gigs should be saved.Recommend you review EVERY dollar you made and what you spent it on in 2024.

The most effective approach is to analyze other short-term rentals in the area, reviewing their nightly rates and occupancy trends throughout the year.

Lease review with a lawyer and you have now passed the costs to the tenants.

Your margin for error on a house that is valued under $100k is so tight.

There are many reasons but near the top of the list is their cost versus the value add. 

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*This link comes directly from our calculators, based on information input by the member who posted.

As for your current home I would weigh the value of renting vs selling.

Access to Cash Value: A properly structured permanent life insurance policy (like an IUL or whole life) can build cash value that you can borrow against for property acquisitions, renovations, or even as a safety net during market downturns. 2.

Quote from @Tomasz Kaminski: @Chris SeveneyHow do you consider property value if you cannot go inside to evaluate the interior condition?

Quote from @David Cherkowsky: Hi All,I purchased an investment property in the middle of last year and to this point have been using 0.75*lease value in my DTI calculation.