I bought the house last week for 20k including delivery so I figured it's a gamble I can live with.

I am new to REI in rhe US (I am drom the UK), so I have a lot to learn and pick up.  

If you were in the UK, I could share what i know about that combination.A complete tangent.

Don’t be afraid to gamble with nothing just be smart about your bets and smart with your winnings.

Saying your tenant is paying the interest on your mortgage is like saying you can gamble at the casino when you’re ahead because you’re playing with the houses money.

Now tech is hard to 'value', but still need to build a model for that to be able to make any claim.Real estate outside the U.S. is overvalued in certain countries and regions: Canada, Scandinavia, Oceania, UK some prominent examples according to a study by economist Niraj Shah quoted on VisualCapitalist.Real estate in the U.S. is overvalued in certain states and counties.

In a rapidly rising market, some investors will pay more in anticipation of appreciation, but I call that "gambling".  

I called several of his references, and they had nothing but positive comments on the guy.We decided to take the gamble and negotiate a contract with the guy.

The only possible cash flow strategy I can think of is to gamble on rent control cities by buying out tenants to make the numbers work (much harder in SF now).

The only way for you to truly make money on this property is through appreciation, which is essentially gambling, but a lot more work.