And it’s about to be very personal to you as the one who is going to be responsible for it, and maybe have a significant debt to pay back on it.The vast majority of business owners selling their business genuinely want to see it continue to succeed, even if it has no monetary impact on them.

That's before you pay any debt service.To answer your question: No, it's generally not a good idea to lose a bunch of money every month.

I haven't heard of the ability to add additional $250k primaries, but I'll have to dig in to try to learn more about that!  

Many of the investors I know have dialed back on their private equity investment or have changed to doing debt instead of equity so it was not prime time.

To defer all of your gain, you'll want to trade up in value, replace all the debt (meaning new properties have at least $350,700 of debt), and not take any cash from the exchange (this is boot which = taxable gain).As for replacement property, it just has to be real property - meaning it can be commercial, STR, land, etc!

Additionally, the fact you might be negative cash flow in Texas will give you more flexibility by renting in Portland.  

On the other hand, if you're aiming for long-term rental properties, getting prequalified with a lender specializing in traditional loans or DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) loans is key.

Hard to produce cash flow or break even with that much debt, at that rate.House-hackers, however enjoy certain one time (non-scalable) advantages that should be taken advantage of in the early days: - They can assume pre-existing debt like VA and FHA Loans (rather than take it on Subject-To which is dramatically riskier).- They can rent by the room and self-manage to produce day 1 cash flow.- Many of these HCOL areas also have strict limitations on AirBnB or short-term rentals... that do not apply to owner-occupants - thus allowing for extreme cashflow potential for house-hackers.

With the economy of scale in multifamily, each additional unit nets you a little more than the last, as a rule of thumb.

Looking at this as a strategic addition to my portfolio.