Hi KyleThe way most real estate for sale is priced these days there’s little to no cash flow after debt service with 25% down - borrowing a down payment would put the investor in a negative monthly position. 

This means you need to pad your rehab costs, make sure you have trusted service providers that do great work, and when you run comps be sure to bring them down a bit and see if the deal still makes sense. 

Quote from @Jason Wray: Kathy,When you use those websites you are getting stuck with a small list of lenders that sign up on their website and services.

Instead of paying into someone else’s property, you could be using that allowance to finance your own real estate investment.In Germany, you have access to a stable market with long-term growth potential, and U.S. service members and government civilians have unique advantages here.

External Revenue Service :)

Do you have a service or website you prefer to handle direct mail?

Year 0: ($2,000 - $1,700) x (1 + 2%)^0 / (1 + 5%)^0 ≈ $300 in today’s buying power.Year 5: ($2,000 - $1,700) x (1 + 2%)^5 / (1 + 5%)^5 ≈ $260 in today’s buying power.Year 10: ($2,000 - $1,700) x (1 + 2%)^10 / (1 + 5%)^10 ≈ $225 in today’s buying power.Year 15: ($2,000 - $1,700) x (1 + 2%)^15 / (1 + 5%)^15 ≈ $194 in today’s buying power.So, if you purchase property in a city where rent increases at a slower pace than inflation, the amount of goods and services you can buy will decrease over time due to inflation.Here is what I recommend:Purchase in a city that possesses the following characteristics.Significant and sustained population growth.Rapid and sustained appreciationBalance negative cash flow, interest rate buydown, and increased down payment to create an acceptable cash flow situation today.Refinance when rates fall to increase cash flow.

The math behind Real Estate is not that complicated, Revenue - expenses and debt service = cash flow. 

Tax shelter schemes, partnerships with foreign partners and accounts, partnerships with hundreds of members, returns with blatant mistakes, entities in questionable businesses, like gambling, drugs, online video sales, escort services.

On the other hand, I’m hesitant to simply pay down more of a property, as we don’t need the immediate cash flow.Fortunately, both my wife’s job and mine are recession-proof, which allows us to be a bit more aggressive with our investments.I’d really appreciate advice from investors who have experience with frequent moves or military service.