It’s exciting to hear your perspective and how you prioritize trust and professionalism in your lending practices!

As mentioned elsewhere, breakeven on cash flow is not the same as break even for taxes.Let's make some assumptions:Rental income = $1000Mortgage payment = $400 - but $300 is interest and $100 is principalOther expenses (repairs, advertising, utilities, etc) = $600Depreciation = $250The above scenario creates a break even from a cash flow perspective, however the tax scenario looks like this:Rental income minus the mortgage interest (principal is not deductible) minus the other expenses minus depreciation looks like this:1000-300-600-250 = $150 LossIf your income is over $150,000, then you cannot deduct that loss, but you can roll it over to future years. 

I understand it will take more than a message to penetrate the core of your being however i hope you can start to see this situation from a different perspective.

Hey Rae, Not on here often but jumped on to see your post that I think i can bring value to from a Lenders perspective. 

Let me address your questions and provide insight from a lender's perspective:1.

Obviously this depends on whether Local, Esq. is willing to do it (and whether there is a state-specific bar requirement just for this type of work), but I want an outside perspective first.Thanks,Looking in Baltimore

Markets with sub 8% cap rates, generally the cash you need to raise is going to be true equity and since the cash flow would be too tight from a DSCR perspective, you have to put down way more than 20%. 

How long must you wait before being able to rent out a primary residence property from a lending perspective?

The perspectives on time commitments and the differences were really helpful.

But that's not why it's on fire.Here is how I get my perspective:  I was a firefighter in CA for about a decade in my former life.