From the assessor's site, the land-use records show that the encroaching property owner has only been paying taxes for their plotted land, while the subject property has been paying the taxes for land on which the other’s building partially sits.

If you’re just starting or want to minimize risk, house hacking is a killer move—grab a duplex, live in one unit, rent the other, and let it pay down your mortgage while you scale up.

Check with your municipality about how property taxes will change when you buy the place.

If your bottom line numbers on tax returns and W2 income are not strong however, this will be an abrupt dead end.

Do you want to be passive (ie give your $ to someone and they pay you interest, or you put the money for the opp and get equity, etc)3.

You Pay, You Stay. 

You want an investment that pays for itself, including mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and even some money set aside for a reserve to cover vacancies and capital expenditures.

For example, using 70-80% leverage could preserve your cash for more deals while maintaining strong returns.A blended approach might work: pay cash for smaller deals to avoid delays and borrow on more significant properties to spread risk.

Example, a short pay history - non-redeeming factor, a 25% down payment, a redeeming factor to counter the short pay history.

If you need financial help, ask under the "Finance, Tax, and Legal" forum.