The only real, dependable income comes from a property that is a lot of work (well performing short term rental), one that is paid off, or one that you have owned for a long time to see rent appreciation. 

I would use a service like task rabbit or Thumbtack to see a handyman, get them out to the property and get them to do some work.

That said, I’ve found that properties in C-class neighborhoods tend to perform best with Section 8 tenants.

Owners mistakenly ASSUME all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, so price is the only differentiator – so, they often select the first PMC they call or that calls them back!

It under performed, but it was my first flip.

Owners mistakenly ASSUME all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, so price is the only differentiator – so, they often select the first PMC they call or that calls them back!

It reminds me of the Charles Schwab study - their best performing retail investment accounts were from dead people that never closed out the account.

RTR advertises high returns as part of their marketing strategy, but the reality is that many of their properties do not perform as well as advertised.

@Chris Kay finding a quality, cost-effective contractor is extremely difficult:(There are thousands of contractors that are great talkers, but rarely perform within budget.Standard bait & switch is to lowball a bid, then once they get started all sorts of things "pop up" that somehow their bid didn't cover.

I’m thinking with a 2.25% rate, that’s a good mortgage to hang on to if it performs well as a rental.