As my father was a mechanical engineer, my brother's math skills were much ballyhooed in my family. 

My question was less about the destination city and more about the mechanics of the intersection between, a few properties, 1031 exchanges, building a local team when you're not only OOS but out-of-country.Re: suggestion of start slow - yes, thank you.

Does your barber, mechanic, landscaper, contractor, lawyer and CPA not do the same?

If the money provided by the Hard Money Lender for the renovation was escrowed at Chicago Title Company, they may be asking for all of this to ensure that no mechanic liens can be put on the property by your contractors or suppliers. 

Overall, it's proven to be a viable option, but like what many others have mentioned here there are alternatives.The big thing to consider here is that every company offers a different product and pricing, and those products/pricing mechanism change very frequently.

I could even argue principal pay down could be considered part of the cash on cash return.Your post would have been better understood and more easily received if you stated:If one buys rental property with $20,000 down and a $80,000 loan AND one assumes the rent covers all cost of the ownership THEN the return is xxxxx%.Without stating the assumptions used in your analysis, it leads to confusion.I believe it is best to clearly state assumptions used in an kind of return calculation.I did state that assumption, although without much emphasis (bold added for this quote), "if you get a 80% LTV loan with a 20 year amortization, then break even for 20 years while the property gains nothing in value (which never happens over 20 years), the rate of return is still 7.18%." 

There are many mechanical moving parts and many things that can break, especially if no preventative maintained is done.

So far in 2021, none of those cities appear in the top 80 for rent increases, according to Zillow data through May.The pandemic caused Americans to put a greater emphasis on wanting more space and a more reasonable cost of living.

Basement is a studio with a fireplace (electric), a beautiful full kitchen with island with dishwasher, king bed area with walking closet (space stolen from the mechanical room), huge bathroom with custom tile and glass shower and heated floors in all 3 bathrooms in the house. 

But there's way less interest in counting all the pennies, with the emphasis on productivity, growth, and financial reward.I don't think they are mutually exclusive concepts.