@David YoungRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

“A new Michigan law bans many landlords from rejecting tenants based on source of income, like housing vouchers, veterans’ benefits or Social Security.Gov.

Embarrassingly, I listed our property with the usual $50 pet fee (which can only be $35 now) and asking for income 3x rent (which is now 2x).

CA has the highest income tax rate in the county.

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

But I would be passing up on a big promotion that could lead to significant increase in income. 

I’m considering amulti-family property in the 76104 zip code of Fort Worth, TX, and I’d love your feedback to help determine if this is a good deal.Property DetailsAsking Price: $169,999 (seller says it’s negotiable).Current Rental Income: $2,400/month (duplex is vacant).Configuration: Combination of duplex and triplex units.Some units are rented at below-market rates.The duplex and need rehab.Historical Income: Seller claims it previously brought in $5,000/month when fully occupied.ConditionBuilt in 1934, so it’s an older property.Some permits were recently pulled (e.g., plumbing, window replacements, and sheetrock repairs), but it still needs work to get the vacant units ready to rent.It’s located in a neighborhood with a higher crime rate but also near major highways and areas with rental demand (e.g., downtown Fort Worth and Texas Christian University).My Goal:I’m focused on cash flow, and this property seems like it could work if I can stabilize it.

If you have your mom live there without any rental income, it is not considered held for investment but is rather held as a second home and does not qualify for 1031 Exchange treatment. 

Passive income is certainly the name of the game - building a real estate portfolio and creating generational wealth are key ingredients to long term holistic financial health and success.There are fantastic real estate investment opportunities in various markets, particularly in the Midwest and Southeast of the country. 

Imagine making millions of dollars over the course of your career and then having to pay 30-50% every year to uncle sam instead of compounding that cash over time.This is exactly what real estate professionals have learned to mitigate.To reduce their taxable income, they just buy a building every year, do a cost seg, and use depreciation to reduce their tax liability dramatically.Their personal wealth snowball grows much larger and much faster than their W2 counterparts who give most of their money back to the government each year.Following this strategy as a real estate professional is one of best ways to end up with a much larger net worth at the end of your career.