If you are just looking for principal protection assets you can do a lot better than empty houses, if that's what you are doing. 

I agree, its easy to say oh I want cash flow, but ultimately, most of the gains are made with appreciation and principal paydown over long periods of time. 

For example if you sold on year 1 on a 5 year prepayment penalty, the lender would hit you with 5% of the principal balance. 

At this point, it’s the principal.

Principal paydown is now around $2k/monthTenants are great.

If you are still negative cash flow and can stomach it, then focus on appreciation and principal pay down.Good luck!

It's crucial to evaluate how the deal performs with the new mortgage:Updated Financials After Refinancing: Market Value: $250,000 Mortgage Amount (80% LTV): $200,000 Equity: $50,000 Interest Rate: 5% (30-Year Amortization) Assuming after 12months the rate will drop from 6% to 5%Monthly Expenses: Mortgage Payment: $1,074 Property Tax: $260 (4% Adjustment from last year) Utilities: $309 (+3% Adjustment) Insurance: $104 (+4% Adjustment) Vacancy: $105 Repairs & Maintenance: $105 (now after 12 months we can assume we have repairs at 5% factor on annual rent) Total Monthly Expenses: $1,957Rent Income after 12 months assuming annual rent increase at 5% : $2,100Cash Flow: $143 per month 😊Year 2 Return on investment $2,951 Principal Paydown year 2 $20,000 Property Appreciation (assuming 8% per year) $1,720 Yearly Cash Flow (this will increase as rents rise) $50,000 Initial Equity Total Gain $74,671 with just $ $22,789 remaining in the deal. 

I've included an example below to help illustrate this.So different lenders have different rates (which do vary even for DSCR loans) but these are factors they all consider.See example below:DSCR < 1Principal + Interest = $1,700Taxes = $350, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $50Total PITIA = $2200Rent = $2000DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2000/2200 = 0.91Since the DSCR is 0.91, we know the expenses are greater than the income of the property.DSCR >1Principal + Interest = $1,500Taxes = $250, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $25Total PITIA = $1875 Rent = $2300DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2300/1875 = 1.23If a purchase, you also generally need reserves / savings to show you have 3-6 month payments of PITIA (principal / interest (mortgage payment), property taxes and insurance and HOA (if applicable).

Warren Buffet said the most important part of investing is to protect your principal. 

Its hard to do return on investment since we are getting principal back starting year two as we sell..