Well, I have been thinking this way because I am using my own cash, which is limited.

 @Adrien SI am using CAPS right now but really considering switching or self managing.

Thanks to having no debt but a mortgage which the rental income covers I am able to get a second mortgage for decent amount and am using my LOC for part of down payment.

What that means is that I am using creative financing to get deals done.

I am used to having columns where you click on a column and things are resorted.

The main point is you buy something that works for you.Just FYI, based on what I am used to in my current market. that triplex you mentioned would be an instant no thanks.  

Hi All,I am looking for advice we are looking into investing some money into our first rental and at the same time are looking for a bigger house for ourselves.With this in mind we are considering keeping our current house and making this our first rental possibly in the future if we wanted to downsize we could return as we really like the neighborhood.Our objective is long term investment to supplement out 401k’s although likely along the way we will need a balance between cash generating property and appreciation driven.So FinancialsOriginal Purchase price $300K in 2014 (Estimated current value $330-340k)Deposit 20%/$60kInterest Rate 3.75%There is $200k left on the mortgage I am using a excel rental calculator and I am using the original purchase details without updating for the reduced mortgage or higher appraised value as that seems to complicate.Assumptions:Estimated Rent $2300 p/m (Based on zillow and comparables)Vacancy Rate 10%Property Taxes $8800Insurance $1200Maintenance/Repairs $2000Utilities $600(This was to include mowing services)Advertising $250Annual Expense inflation assumed at 2%Property appreciation assumed 3% (This might be conservative Ann arbor has been 4-5% for last 5 or so years)The property calculator gives me -2% return on cash but 16% return on investment.Based on this what advice would you give me or watch outs?

For this example, I am using a base investment of 37,500 each from my partner and I for a total of 75,000 to invest with.Note, if I did not have a partner I would start anyway and it would simply add a year or two onto my timetable.

I could take my property manager or realtor's word for it but that may not be their area of expertise.Also, I am using David Greene's Long Distance Investing book as a guide so I may never actually see the house. 

I am using an online company to print and merge the addresses, their column order and heading names are slightly different than my spreadsheet so I download their Excel template and copy my data over into their template.