It keeps the motivation up, and the creative juices flowing! 

Dont juice yourself for a $60 light fixture.

I had funds with First Pension in LA, a small private boutique provider with great customer service, when they went belly up and stole $60M of investor funds.   

I suppose we could all cheer you on and give you advice on how to "10x" your goals and flip 20 houses this year and purchase 30 investment properties, but that's like encouraging someone to jump off a 30-foot diving board after watching them belly-flop in a kiddy pool.You have one rental that has fallen apart and eaten up your cash.

The only consistent positive reviews I've heard from the likes of Zillow are from those who are spending 5 figures per MONTH.Better to work your sphere and do belly-to-belly marketing and networking. 

Suggest a belly to belly meeting with the Seller, Bill, and Kevin to talk.

There’s your estimate.In most of my syndications the taxable income has been near zero in the first couple of years (we do cost seg so that juices it but even without cost seg the taxable income should be fairly low thanks to standard depreciation).  

YOU could find success in either route but it depends on the fire in your belly to succeed and how determined you are to put in the work to make it work. 

However, you may have a hard time finding a seller who will take second lien because they potentially end up with nothing (not even a property) if your financial situation goes belly up. 

You'll have a difficult time finding an investor who went belly up while owning property in cash.