Great for personal residence but not for scaling.  

I financed this property using down payment funds from 403B and a local commercial bank. 15% down from personal funds. 85% down from community commercial bank. 3yr balloon, 20yr amortization, 7% interest rate.

Personal finance is as much behavioral as it is math.

I personally believe that a better way to jump into mid term rentals is to take a course on buidling a property management company or cohosting business where you bring your skillset to the table without the intial investment into all the furniture and leases.

It takes time and patience, but the long-term benefits are well worth it.I’ve personally gained invaluable knowledge, listings, and deals from friendships I’ve built over the years.The more people you engage with, the faster you’ll achieve your goals!

The idea of debt-free is that if a person is going to retire and has to completely depend on the income, they don't want a severe recession surprising them and causing them to default on the debt and losing the properties.In a normal world, I would do that as well.

Juggling between work and personal life can be tough, but having a property manager can take some of the pressure off and let you focus on your other priorities

Do you own these properties in your personal name or through an LLC?

However, you can get loans that are based on the performance of the rental and not your personal income and debt.

My wife is a realtor and my sons are MLO's and we started a lending company last year :)We do STR's mostly personally with our own properties and self manage all of them.