That's the only real answer to make anything work in a place like Boston.And to answer your question on returns, 4x-20x leverage (including owner occupant loan options) + appreciation is what makes real estate a better investment the index funds and worth the hassle.

Could be a higher rate, lower leverages, higher reserves, etc... varies by lender.Cheers!

Leveraging business credit for a real estate deal, especially if that credit is only interest-free for a short window, isn’t automatically a bad idea…but it’s definitely not for everyone.

Honestly, over leveraging is a really bad idea at this time (just my 2 cents). 

Learned all the lessons needed on this one for sure.I am now feeling the positive pressure from the huge mistake and looking to leverage all the resources I can to make sure I do long-distance real estate investing the right way from here on out.GOAL: I plan to purchase 3-5 SFH to hopefully cashflow $2,500+ in the next 2-3 months.

The property was leased for $2,150 per month.Refinance and Return on InvestmentAfter a stabilization period of 6 months, the property was refinanced to leverage the increased value created through renovations.

Your solution is to borrow the downpayment, as well.This is referred to as "over-leveraging" and it's not wise.

The thing that the gurus never tell anyone is that the majority of creative finance deals are done by investors who don't need creative financing, that is their leverage and why they can walk away, thereby making them more attractive then the one person who can only do the deal one way because they have no money of their own.

We embrace S8 applicants, but screen them just like any other applicant.Many have an entitlement mentality and try to leverage their S8 voucher by pretending to be helpless:1) A percentage won't apply because they expect a landlord to waive application fees for them.2) Many cry broke and expect a landlord NOT to charge them a security deposit.3) Many of those same S8 tenants trying to avoid paying a security deposit, won't make an effort to call the list of nonprofits we send them that will pay their security deposit if they apply.4) A lot of them try to avoid paying for utilities.

Have you looked into leveraging local REIA groups?