Don't forget to change all your faucet aerators and shower heads to low flow it makes a huge difference as well as far as water usage and saving HOT water. 

It is your first year when you get the major tax savings windfall due to cost segregation and bonus depreciation.

I was trying to come up with some ideas to up the cash flow.

@Tom HallAt 7% if you can I would pay it down as investing it net after tax gains may not get you the 7% you are paying - so it’s less riskDownside is you lose liquidity of that money as it’s tied in your propertyIf rates come down in future you can refinance and even take some of the cash out.Regarding your question are rates coming down, a lot of factors come into play but right now it does not appear there will be significant changes to rates over next 3-6 months.

We have some $ saved  but don’t have enough to put a full 20% deposit down as needed by most conventional lenders.

Our underwriting focuses primarily on the property's return on investment and/or cash flow, rather than personal financial details.

Buyers who go directly to the listing agent will not see the same savings, if they see any savings at all.

I don’t generally buy into those as saving all this money, but I’m wondering if others have an experience or perspective? 

If you buy in a good market, appreciation will beat cash flow every time. 

Get on a budget, build your emergency fund, pay off all debts, save up.