For me, the thing is in that first year is where I'm going to discover all my problems with that property, all the unforeseen issues. if I have cash in the bank/market and $500/mo coming in and a water heater blows up and a boyfriend kicks in the door I still sleep at night.

The risk with doing nothing is far greater than taking action assuming I have calculated the risks and ensure there are mitigated plans in place should something unforeseen happen.

That being said there could obviously be unforeseen repairs etc. or tenant could do a number of things on the way out.I'm requiring an application fee and background check on all prospective tenants who are serious.

you will probably have unforeseen expenses that eat into your cash-flow at times.. you ready for this life or what? 

If you had $1 million dollars sitting in the bank right now - you would be ok buying a rental home for 100k knowing that you can go through any unforeseen storms... 

Hi BP,I realize again the importance of avoiding over-leveraging especially in this unforeseen recession crisis.

Even If the property was in an LLC I would not like having a large sum of equity at risk from an unforeseen lawsuit. 

@David Dachtera I can appreciate that forecasting future real estate market projections can not be predefined as there are multiple unforeseen variables that can influence the market.

Make sure and hold money in reserves for unforeseen problems such as evictions, a new A/C unit, a new roof, etc.

@Jon Ree I suppose besides getting that first payment earlier, and helping your credit by repaying the LOC, I believe the other "advantage" is that you then have those funds available for any other unforeseen emergency that you may not have enough funds saved for yet, like to replace broken furnace or something.