In the scenario you posted with a $1,000 rent monthly and a total PITI expense of $750 then the mortgage cost would be a "wash" and you would see a net impact to your debt to income ratios of $0.00.

But, if you want to get your feet wet first, then Tax Lien investing, depending on the state, can be a good entry point, but longer term I think you can find much larger returns, more liquidity, lower tax impact once you invest in real property.

Personally one or two deals may no impact me, but it might my contractors, their sub-contractors, my property managers, realtors, etc..

There are a number of other factors that will impact the cost of a conversion, especially when more than one unit where the intent is to have each unit pay its own heat.

Assuming that you're still comfortable investing in Tulum given the above, it makes sense to ask yourself what kind of property to buy because, in order to limit the impact of competition, choosing the right kind of property might make a difference.

The U.S Census predicts by 2050 whites will not be the predominate race.Mexican,Latino etc. are predicted to be.The reason is Whites on average have 2 children or less.The Mexican,Latino community have very large families with 4 to 6 children on average per couple.It's simply math that over time they will overtake the White class by numbers.Asians will grow by a large number as well.These are actual statistics so please don't start any race or political stuff people.I think different races live differently so tenant mix will have an impact with investing moving forward.

The banks aren't able to close that fast in most cases, and they know it, so I don't think it would have much impact with them.

If it's something that could have a major impact on the deal, you could use an amortization table to find the balance.

It could also have a negative impact on your relationship with the lender, which can be really important in this space. 

You want T-12, T-3 and T-1, leases, any lost of and any records of improvments including warranty information, surveys, environmental reports and any other pertinent information they may have on file.