And always set aside reserves for the unexpected.always look at location, schools and is there an area that is gentrifying where we could take advantage of better appreciation Inspections are paramount.

Most importantly please be sure to keep money in reserve.

Depends who you ask and how secure you feel about your income On the one hand being debt free is great, but leverage allows us to build our wealth quicker.RE investors are notorious for being cash poor, so I would avoid thatIf youre able to comfortably save 100k a year and have enough reserves, I think buying leveraged properties is the best way to scale.You could kill two birds with one stone theoreticallyThey say paying an extra month a year towards principal saves you 7 years on a 30 year fixed mortgageUsing that logic you can add 2+ months a year on your primary, and buy 1 property a year and keep enough reserves. 

This is appealing as I want to spread my cash reserve as much as possible. 20 percent down each time will really limit my progress.  

Sounds like its time to sell since the HOA fee just doubled which usually means the HOA has not been managed properly and failed to build a strong reserve account.

I have $150k in cash that I received from an inheritance and would like to use it to invest in real estate(I already have 6 months of reserves of my own money saved).

For the first few reservations, I would put a lot of focus on bringing in good 5-star reviews.

These are a couple of things we do during our lease audit process.This is a prime example of why investors need reserve funds.

I could, but the $$ fallout in lost reservations would probably be greater than any gains.  

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).