Unfortunately, it seems I am not understanding something though, because no matter how I run the numbers my cash flow seems to decrease if I add leverage.

Wall Street thought we were going to get six- eight rate reductions this year we’ve seen none so far and stagflation is setting in , the Fed is trapped , if they reduce rates now , inflation could catch on fire if they increase them again too much something in the economy will break I think we’re in this holding pattern for one to two years personally, I don’t claim to be a macro economic expert, but I do study it quite a bit and I’m not counting on or expecting rates to come down anytime soon and even if they do, they’ll just be small quarter-point rate hikes not enough to make a huge difference in cashflow, so ..I either hold and if they do decrease rates, there will  probably be another asset inflation bubble, which will increase my appreciation, or my cell and deploy the capital more wisely and look for some market softening and buy a good deal

I am 52yo, a full time nurse and will not be leaving my job, but I would like to decrease the amount of hours I work.My dilemma:  I currently own my own home (I owe about $165,000).

I will start high and decrease in price until I find a tenant I would like to live with.

There are a lot of much lower-risk markets that have also appreciated and are likely to continue appreciating where one can get financing and that aren’t 100% dependent on foreign investment and tourism (prone to crashing in down turns as discretionary spending decreases).

It may decrease turnover thereby reducing vacancies, but it may not. 

@Michael Elefante now that you are making money look into starting a Solo401k to decrease your taxes and defer or have future RE gains and cash flow 100% tax free.

So I don't see the VALUE of houses having gone up, but I do see the PRICE of the houses having gone up because the VALUE of the money has decreased.  

Also performing notes can significantly impact your net worth in a positive way, remember the interest is what is paid first on the loan , your equity doesn't decrease much until much until late in the loan.

Over the last year rental rates have decreased approximately 7% and with the continued development surrounding the area many renters are feeling the pinch if they want to stay in popular areas located in and around Austin.