If you are going to be an owner-occupant, want a low down payment, and are planning to do a renovation, the FHA 203k and Fannie May Homestyle loans are your best optionsHow do you know the property is currently upside down on the mortgage? 

Our builder is Bill Lowe, who we really like so far.

Plus with no state income tax, cheap insurance, and very low property taxes, I’m probably starting $20k ahead of most people, and that’s a tax free $20k.).

Anyone that is looking at your assets is always going to need to factor in property management, so you can show that as a real expense (and really make it as high or low as you want).I work in a vertically integrated real estate and development company, and I cannot imagine how things would run if we did not have an internal property management company that essentially works for the other companies but also stands on its own.

Cost to build is $350K (I am managing it all myself and calling in favors around the city to get low rates on materials and labor).

@Chris Mahoo many new investors don't take the time to properly understand RE investing.1) Many are using approaches from 2010-2018 when Class A property prices were so low from the Great RE Crash that an investor could cashflow and get pretty easy Class A tenants to manage.2) If you look at what investors were doing before 2008-2010, most were buying Class B & C rentals.To make it worth while, an investor either needs to Fix & Flip or invest & hold rentals for 10+ years.- Over a 10 year period cashflow will increase as rents increase (rents typically rise faster than property taxes, insurance, etc.)- The property should be appreciating, if purchased in a good location, increasing the owner's equity/wealth.- Rents will be paying the mortgage off, increasing the owner's equity/wealth.- If you hold a rental until death, you can pass it on with a stepped-up cost basis, limiting captial gains if then sold (limited by inheritance tax limitations).Too many newbies on this site trying to replace their day job income via "passive" real estate investing w/o digging deep enough to understand how it really works.

Low prices enable more people to buy, limiting demand for rental properties so rents decline (in inflation-adjusted dollars).Population Growth: In areas with growing populations, demand outpaces supply, driving up property prices.

Preferably low or no money down as best seller would be one only interested in the monthly incomeI then sell said first property and take that cash to buy the investment I am really wanting and I get the terms I want.only thing I don’t know about yet is, how to dodge the tax on the sale of the initial property?

Bad customer service (from the partners), unprofessional client information management, ridiculously long underwriting, and I’ll add this..a low-key throwing of their loan officer under the bus for information “he did not know” or “must have been mistaken” about.

Even with buying down the rate, I would not expect to get better than low 6's in the best of scenarios.