I began my career with rental properties in CT, and the eviction process can be brutal. 

We go back and forth between long and short term rentals.

We rented it as a mid-term rental & it was cash flowing over $700 a month.

I have an off-market deal that seems fairly promising to be mine—wanted to reach out and get opinions on the rental market there.

I have a family member that is willing to gift me one of their rental properties.

If you go for a single family home, you are relying on debt / income solely for that new mortgage, however if you go with another multi, you can use some of that rental income to qualify for a larger mortgage, and ultimately a larger property.I'd be happy to chat, I am a local realtor in Fairfield County.

Am I missing how this can be leveraged to increase equity to buy rental property??

Never heard of them nor can I find much info online about them @John Arena.What are you looking to accomplish with them?

Then literally hundreds of these of come across my desk seeking financing - and typically the pro forma looks great while the actual historical financials show almost no more profit than Simple long term rentals after paying management fees, higher interest rates necessary for these type properties, increased repairs and maintenance, and faster depreciation.There’s also a personal reason I don’t invest in these properties ( I DO finance them).  

My main goal has been to keep buying rental properties, however, so far my experience has been a very challenging one in Canada because of the tenancy laws, and interest rates.