I was talking to a RE friend.He said it's a bad time to buy* rates are high* homes are expensive in most marketsLooking to hear some counterpoints. 

Equity Created: $550,000 ARV - $409,000 loan balance = $141,000 in equity.Cash Flow: The property rents for $2,950/month, covering all expenses and generating slight positive cash flow.HELOC Potential: Post-refi, I can secure a HELOC up to $86,000 (90% LTV) to fund future investments.

I've included an example below to help illustrate this.So different lenders have different rates (which do vary even for DSCR loans) but these are factors they all consider.See example below:DSCR < 1Principal + Interest = $1,700Taxes = $350, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $50Total PITIA = $2200Rent = $2000DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2000/2200 = 0.91Since the DSCR is 0.91, we know the expenses are greater than the income of the property.DSCR >1Principal + Interest = $1,500Taxes = $250, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $25Total PITIA = $1875 Rent = $2300DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2300/1875 = 1.23If a purchase, you also generally need reserves / savings to show you have 3-6 month payments of PITIA (principal / interest (mortgage payment), property taxes and insurance and HOA (if applicable).

One of the big benefits of buying the whole thing on a fixed rate loan is that one of your major expenses is fixed for a long period of time, including the cost of the land. 

Be warned - getting a short term rental to market is expensive, stressful, and exhausting.

  $31k after tax annual income - $11k rent = $20k or $1,600 per month net income left to cover all other expenses (utilities, cars, insurance, groceries, kids, activities, etc.).Median household income for 38128 is $41k or $36k after tax

It's not too expensive however, after buying our condo in the summer we are lacking the capital to go in on it by ourselves.

And someone jumping into this as a complete newbie can expect that they have a decent chance of making some expensive newbie mistakes.

Your expenses are not a reason to increase rent!

If you’re looking at retrofitting to separate heating for each unit (like furnaces or mini-splits), you might be looking at a higher upfront cost, but it can shift utility expenses to tenants and improve your NOI.I’d factor in boiler age and efficiency when analyzing deals and if it’s near the end of its life, negotiate a price reduction or a credit.