Sometimes they would disable the electrical panel as well.I distinctly remember one of my colleagues who did it just because the rent check bounced & he retired a very wealthy man with a lot of 'doors'. 

As for the money aspect… build wealth is the eventual goal but I feel like (and maybe I’m wrong) that I need to put into something that will develop cash flow first and either that will allow scaling OR eventually (this becomes the longer strat) building equity and then selling.

Wealth is created from appreciation (natural and forced) and for debt pay down.

Although I am nowhere near wealthy, my 11 year old 4Runner (purchased with 100k miles on it) and I do like to practice stealth wealth so it is hard for me to provide exact details on what you are asking for.

Yes, the income is free and clear but the wealth is locked.I advise investors to really look at both scenarios - leveraged and unleveraged.

Generational wealth is made from appreciation and equity, rental income is insurance against downturns in the market. 

I forgot to add that I did a background check on the seller and he looks like a very wealthy property developer who owns a lot of large buildings

Based on a 2,000-calorie diet, the human body generates about 330 BTUs per hour of heat.

Tenants think of landlords as extremely wealthy individuals that have tons of properties.  

I am not wealthy enough to lose $800 so I need to get all $800 back.