Having a low cost of living creates a virtuous cycle that compounds exponentially: not only do you need lower passive income to reach financial freedom, but it will be easier to save up investment capital to get there, which then compounds at your rate of return.Cash Flow and Appreciation are almost always inversely correlated ... anybody who tells you different is trying to sell you something.

We have other issues here locally which compound with short term rentals, I would just ensure that there is a strong case for long term rentals wherever you buy in case the Airbnb rug gets pulled out from under you.

If you're only investing for extra cash flow and long-term wealth, then having it cover your expenses would be just fine.If you're trying to quit the corporate world completely and grow this through the roof then I'd say reinvest all your cash flow back into the business and watch it compound!

But, it's a compound effect where they keep coming back for more!

I would let that money compound probably to age 62 or 67 before I begin withdrawing 3-4% which should give us about 45-55k a year in just 401k.

You do not want to make compounding potential future mistakes with this tenant.No legal advice given.   

Imagine the compound interest if you invested for 30 years, maxing out Roth IRA's from Vanguard with low expense ratios, you'd have 1.4 million that doesn't have RMD's or taxes at the time of distribution.  

This allows you to grow that savings to a much larger value via both tax sheltering and compounding of income over time. 

On the other hand, they have holding costs that compound, so getting off of their books sooner than later is also a consideration for them.So, if your offer is a low ball, they will get to the bottom of it, and will likely reject your offer if it is too far off of the BPO. 

It then goes into the piggy bank until 59 1/2, but your future self will be glad to have the big pile that can result from compounded returns in a tax sheltered vehicle.Before ripping off the band aid I would strongly suggest discussing with a licensed tax advisor or fee only financial advsior.