Hey Aishan, I personally own 12-doors in Detroit and I live in California.

I'm born and raised in Houston and now work with a full service long-term rental management managing over 300 doors - all SF or MU (up to 4 unit).

that we’ve learned in our 24 years, managing almost 700 doors across the Metro Detroit area, including almost 100 S8 leases:Class A Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 3-5 years for positive cashflow, but you get highest relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% the more recent norm.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 680+ (roughly 5% probability of default), zero evictions in last 7 years.Class B Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, decent amount of relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% should be applied only if proper research done to support.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 620-680 (around 10% probability of default), some blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 5 yearsClass C Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, high cashflow and at the lower end of relative rent & value appreciation.

It will include a compact bathroom, a tiny kitchen area, and a heater—just the essentials to make it comfortable for someone to stay in.

Not that I don’t enjoy dealing with tenants, maintenance, lawn care, Home Depot and Lowe’s trips and tenant change overs (I recently put new carpets, kitchen floor, appliances, vanity and mirror in the bathroom and fresh paint in my upstairs unit).

I want to reach XYZ monthly cash flow to replace my W2" or "I want to accumulate XYZ doors to replace my W2 income"  with a monthly cash flow number attached to each door they look to purchase.  

Walls are priced one way, ceilings another, then you have baseboard, trim and doors. 

A reliable lender can fund a loan within days, this opens the door to countless more deals allowing you to get the best possible price. 

From what I've heard, local banks are sometimes more flexible than the big guys.A buddy of mine managed to snag a HELOC on his rental property, which isn't always straightforward, but it opened doors for him.

My humble advice to anyone attempting to do creative finance is:Creative finance is for experienced investors who have access to capital if anything goes wrong.Learn the lawsDon't use a contract "off the internet", laws vary by state and are also regulated on a federal levelLearn the financing techniques correctlyDon’t skip parts of the processDon’t ever do a “kitchen table” closingUse the proper deedAn attorney can help you with the legal work, but the rest you are on your ownYour guru will not bail you out“Investing” in someone else’s deal by providing a small 2nd loan so the “investor” can pay for “cash to the seller” and for “closing costs” so he can do the deal is a very bad planKnow what problems can ariseLearn the responses and solutions to problems before they are neededKnow everything there is to know about Title and what that meansKnow who a "protected class" individual isLearn the "back doors"Learn human natureUnderstand timelinesUnderstand regulation enforcement (some of these "mistakes" have a 10 year statue of limitations ( they can charge you 10 years AFTER you do the transaction) and carry hefty fines and possible imprisonmentThe court doesn't accept "I didn't know" for an answer"Know that the source of the lead plays a serious role in some states and federallyKnow how much of a "profit" pushes the boundaries to invite an investigationYou can be sued by the seller if you don’t do things correctlyYou are automatically at fault if an investigator or attorney or regulator gets involved.