They batch the deposits together and you have to go deep into the program to determine which tenant made the payment, that was deposited into your account.

A year into my multifamily journey everything changed.

More common is you move into bigger, more expensive homes that you buy, or perhaps downsize into a home without a mortgage.

I am the first in my family to do REI and my goal is to break the tradition of working for a salary for 40+ yrs only to retire on what I hope will be enough to start living freely.

How bad do things have to get for them to still break even and how bad does it have to be for them to lose money.

The only caveat to that is if you have the ability to turn it into separate units I.E. having a 2/1 and 1/1 instead of a 3/2. 

Negotiating favorable terms is both an art and a science, and in real estate, it's a critical skill that can make or break a deal.

My goal while I'm working is to always report a break even or loss until I retire.

Pick one that is improving, homes being renovated and flipped, vacant storefronts being turned into cool coffee shops etc.Good luck.

I'd break down residential real estate like this (definitely some subjectivity here):A class area= High year-over-year price appreciation, excellent public schools (elementary school ratings are the most correlated to higher real estate prices), little-to-no crime.