So my plan is to house hack for few months and then move out so that it can generate some cash flow..

Losing 85% on a single REIT would’ve been devastating if you were all-in, but spreading out across 10 investments turned the overall outcome positive because of the winners.Here’s a few extra key tips to avoid big losses in passive investments:Focus on cash flow: Invest in assets that generate consistent income.

But maybe your tenant reaching out and mentioning that they're going to be forced to file a police report for fraud could generate some traction...obviously the real objective here is to just get the seller to call you back...

You also have the option to use non-recourse loans to leverage your real estate purchases, though this may trigger Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT) on the income generated.

Even if it does, there's closing costs to consider.As I said, I have no cash myself, so I'm asking how I can deal with generating cash for closing costs (and a down payment) if it comes to it.The house costs $139000.

I know there are a lot of very experienced investors here in the country who have been successful for a generation or so.

From day one I treated my involvement in real estate as a real business.This means, I had an advertising budget, a lead generating and follow up process, a back end process and money source and above all an experienced mentor.  

Generating equity is often second to that.

Having rentals that just pay for themselves or generate excess cashflow you can tap for other things?

Your specific variable expense assumptions are wrong, BUT you stumbled into them being correct overall.Also, you are approaching this correctly - entering in the numbers to generate a purchase price that meets your metrics:)