Anish; If the local laws permit, get an equivalant fo 2 moths rent as security deposit.

Tax equivalent yield of 4.41%.

The way my CPA calculated it was that I would need to sell the house within 3 months for $650k to be equivalent to selling within the week for $550k cash.

Naturally, the "fee" I would negotiate with the new employer would be higher than the equivalent salary to compensate for all the benefits I'd be giving up.Are there any downsides/pitfalls to this?

If you take the Riviera Maya for example, which is in huge demand (because you have all the pure investors in tourism on top of the expats), it is very cheap compared to the equivalents in either Costa Rica and North America.Finally, I totally understand your reluctance to invest in pre-construction.

A personal construction loan covered the purchase price and $170k in improvements, equivalents in the area are selling just one of $400k How did you add value to the deal?

Like it or not that need to be paid your partner Uncle Sam or his Canadian equivalent cousin.Some jurisdictions in the US levy a Gross Receipts Tax or the business privilege tax, which is small percentage of your rental gross income.

If you're not making above 10%, there are more liquid ways to invest your money and assuming you put in 30k, you could easily be getting the equivalent cash flow by simply buying a stock with dividends.Nothing wrong with 100+ units, but if the opportunities to get your numbers that you're looking for, I think you could always look elsewhere (different market, or different investment completely)

Check your state tenancy act (or equivalent).

It's essentially the conventional equivalent of the 203k.