@Chris Seveney @Andy Mirza I would think one benefit of having a neutral 3rd party servicing your loans is that when it came time to sell your paper, the quality of the payment history couldn't be called into question by a potential note buyer, vs. the note buyer having to take your word for it if you are doing your own servicing.Still, servicing OTHER people's notes might be a business worth looking into, depending upon the potential profits margins vs. regulatory headache. 

Have an accountant do the book keeping and accounting (keeps all the money neutral.)   

When things get difficult you will be thankful you have a arms length neutral third party enforcing the lease.

Some of these stories do make for interesting discussions later with other landlords.Remain neutral in dealing with this person and reject due to an incomplete application. 

How long before you could even raise the rents to make it cash flow neutral or positive?  

I spend very little time on my stabilized rentals, maybe 5 hours per month.I’ve had some crazy months and even crazy years where I had multiple expensive evictions, repairs and cap ex, but the overall trend of cash flow is positive.Many of the rentals were BRRRR’s and based on the appraisals on the refi’s I have about $150k of forced appreciation.It sounds like you might be cash flow neutral because you kept refinancing, which I think is a completely fine strategy if you keep reinvesting the proceeds like you did.I’ve had 3 out of state rentals (turnkey) and two of them were cash flow negative.

Some of my properties that were cash flow neutral on purchase have great cash flow after a few years of ownership, so if you have a long term strategy our growth market may be better for both wealth building and cash flow than a flat market with better initial cash flow.

There's no reason to have to accept neutral or less cash flow with a 1031. 

At the end of the day, in my experience, here are a handful of things that aren't terribly expensive and can really help when multiple ones are done together:- Nice laminate floors throughout (or, if you have hardwood and can get the cost in the same range, refinishing those,)- Fresh paint throughout with nice earthy/neutral tones and contrast - I hate obvious paint patching, it makes a property feel like such a cheap rental, as opposed to a classy little place to live. - When you paint, have the painter also scrape the ceilings if you have popcorn/acoustic ceilings.- Brushed nickel fixtures (or something similar) - light fixtures, faucets, etc.- Brushed nickel knobs/handles (or something similar.)- If you have a couple bucks left in the budget, get new (and when I say new, I mean on sale/refurbished/wholesale) stainless steel appliances.

In simple terms by signing a Deed of Trust (DOT) the BORROWER (buyer) transfers his OWNERSHIP in the ppty to an INDEPENDENT, NEUTRAL, THIRD PARTY, usually the banker's or Title Officer's brother in law, in TRUST.