We have never taken money out of the rental business, it either goes towards buying more properties, improving existing ones or paying off loans.

On top of that, when you go to sell you learn the market has been stagnant and has not appreciated with limited owner occupants & investors are not willing to pay retail given the amount of distressed inventory that exists in the market. 

My boyfriend is a 100% disabled veteran who receives $6,500 per mo in benefits.  We live in Alabama and he pays no property tax on his home here as a disabled vet.  He owns his home here outright (value $350k). He ha...

What are your thoughts on purchasing an existing home versus a new build?

Are there any features you’ve always wished existed in tools you currently use to evaluate investment properties?

The other attempt at affordable is density through what they call their middle housing zoning and up zoning existing parcels. again led to building boom but still nothing sells for much less than 500k.

The tenant is not going to extend early out of the kindness of their heart.The existing lender knows the borrower and knows the tenant well.

So I'd be doing my best to get the highest possible rent/revenue but without needing or counting on that.What you refer as cut-throat competition exists in every market where you have demand.

BUT for certain rural areas it's worth it's weight in gold because of the reliability factor vs an unreliable or expensive existing utility structure. 

Here are some common pitfalls I see for new investors from the private lending perspective:• Insufficient Funds: most lenders are going to be able to lend a first-time investor somewhere around 75-80% of the purchase price of an existing property + 100% of your estimated rehab budget (or an 80/100 loan, for short).