There is no such absolute rule or mandate for REI - it is up to you on your comfort level with your cash flow versus total investment versus appreciation potential.If I followed that rule, I would have missed out on a LOT of great opportunities over the years.We bought a house in Jones Valley in 2017 with negative cash flow - why? 

Just make sure you guys are comfortable with the area before pulling the trigger.

Covering this with my salary is relatively comfortable.  

network with local agents to see where they took theres. but not much to it but go with who you feel comfortable with.

I went from barely breaking even to walking away with a very comfortable profit.This experience taught me two critical lessons:Never give up when the situation looks bleak.

I have around 20-30k that I can let go of semi-comfortably and that can be enough in the small market.

ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I WAS INTERESTED IN THIS PROPERTY WAS I LITERALLY GREW UP AROUND THIS PARTICULAR NEIGHBORHOOD SO IT WAS A FULL CIRCLE MOMENT FOR ME BESIDE IT BEING A GREAT DEAL I WAS VERY FAMILIAR AND COMFORTABLE WITH THE AREA !.

There's a few other exceptions such as a tax lawyer, but I find that a lot of folks find comfort in just having me respond to any notices that they might get.

Hey @Jonathan Baptiste, so we are a bit different than some.We have a large house that can sleep 12 comfortably and we provide a lot of stuff.

Depending on comfort and cash, it might be a viable option as you can build equity and then sell without having capital gains, assuming it's your primary residence and you've lived there for 2 years.