Any good inspector will find a bunch of issues, but it is usually it all minor and expected on older properties.

Hi everyone,I am looking to purchase my first rental property. It will be an out of state 2 BR 2 Bath condo unit in a beachfront community. This first posting is to get experienced advice on insurance, advertising, pr...

After this the next best thing would be to have an account that is open and active for a year or more(the older it gets the better) determined the average age of accounts plays a big roll in your credit, just keep them paid on time.

It's in a great neighborhood (Thousand Oaks) and its an older home but can be rented as is. 

It just seemed like a bad idea from the start and was wondering if I'm missing something that more seasoned landlords would see. 

If you're a young person who is 100% dedicated to being a real estate entrepreneur, pulling the money out could be decent seed capital for starting your investment business.If you're a bit older and just looking to grow your net worth, doing a self directed account and not taking the massive hit probably makes more sense.

I didn't wait the year of seasoning the large banks I was working with require, so they were only able to lend at the purchase price, not the appraisal.

I have some folks who've expressed interest, so we may be able to sell without putting it on the market.Since we're empty nesters with an older dog (he just turned 12 yesterday), we'd prefer to be on 1st fl for all our sakes.My 5 yr goal is to acquire 2 MFH per year over the next 5 years. 

Couldn't I pay cash for say a duplex, hold enough cash for repairs and other costs and after the seasoning period do a cash out refinance?

In the mostly low rental areas in NYC but are easy to get to Manhattan or good areas in Brooklyn, Landlords would rather rent short term than to rent to an unqualified tenant and potentially get into a court case, this is ASIDE from making better income on the STRs.That also reduces the supply of available apts.Other issues that has not been addressed but was touched upon when over-consumption was mentioned is that in these rent regulated buildings, there is usually a high demand for services, which will add to a landlord's expense, such as older residents demanding more heating despite conforming to heating laws (BTW, this isn't every landlord...