A successful rental property should offer positive cash flow, meaning your rental income should exceed your monthly expenses (mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc.).To find the right tenants, ensure the property is priced competitively within the local rental market.

These sellers paid much less than what the going rate it today, likely have no mortgage or low interest rate mortgage and do not need to push rents to market value to cash flow.They get solid returns at their current rental values, have minimal headache with current tenants and they don't need to do major repairs to get their properties sold for a solid value. 

Does your mortgage include your property tax payments?

Does size of mortgage paydown become a factor here?

I make around $110k+ per year, live off around $75K, have a mortgage ($1900/mo for rent, escrow, tax), around $40K in equity, and no other debt. 

Financing OptionsParent Loan Options: Consider home equity loans, investment property mortgages, or co-signing a loan.Tax Implications: Speak with a financial advisor about potential deductions and capital gains.Rental Income Potential: Explore the option of renting out extra rooms to offset costs.5.

It’s a great way to grow faster.HELOC or Equity Tapping: If you have equity in another property, using a HELOC or cash-out refinance could help cover the down payment without affecting your DTI as much.Seller Financing or Creative Deals: Look for sellers willing to finance directly, which bypasses traditional mortgage qualification hurdles.Scaling quickly often involves combining strategies—play around with what works best for your goals.

If we include investments in mortgage loans (trust deeds), real estate partnerships, REITs as well as direct property ownership, I’m at about 80%.  

And I would love some passive income or at least someone to pay my mortgage until we can pay it off maybe.

               $215K @ 2.65% rate to be paid offRental in area -                I can rent this for $2600/month and it will give $500 cash flow after mortgage and HOA.