If you are willing to do some work, you can force appreciation, capture some equity, which boosts rent-to-value.In terms of areas to avoid, I would stay away from the East side, particularly anything along Post road between Pendleton Pike and I-74. 

Another idea that we have been exploring is using the cash value of whole life insurance funds for emergencies. 

But from what I have seen it has a lot of useful accounting tools that should make my life significantly easier, and ultimately that's what my intent is.

***EVEN IF YOU CASHFLOW IN REAL LIFE***Ready for the boatload of cherries on top?

Makes life way easier as tenants can't go complaining to you about it as its their own responsibility. 

While they only took up a word or two of this story, they took up months and years of my life for which I earned nothing and lost much, at least in the short-term.

If you can swing it, increasing your down payment to 25% or more might help boost your cash flow and make your investment even more sustainable.Your long-term goal of buying and holding, with a target of 20 properties, is definitely a winning strategy.

For example, a buyer putting 20% down on a $500k home would pay around $500k in interest over the 30-year life of a typical mortgage at a rate around 6.5%.

Okay pal, go with them I am sure it will work out the same (sarcasm) (hangs up phone).Like anything in life, you get what you pay for. 

The primary advantage is the tax-deferred or tax-free growth—like other IRAs, any profits from real estate investments grow without immediate tax consequences, which can significantly boost your retirement savings over time.