But I also think the real gains in real estate are not in cash flow but in long-term appreciation.

Only exception is "blood or flood" emergencies (everything is an emergency to a tenant).3) whatever your tax professional recommends.4) Any way but NOT picking rent up or accepting cash - unless tenant direct deposits to your bank account.5) You'll want to improve your lease over time as you deal with tenant issues.

or can I already start ASAP even without big chunk of cash in the bank? 

But in the competitive Los Angeles market, I had to put up additional cash on top of the deal in order to have my loan taken seriously.

I cash flow about 7k a month after expenses. 

Purchase price: $155,400 Cash invested: $40,000 Property is located in Cuyler-Brownsville an historic district within walking distance of popular Metropolitan District of Savannah GA.I purchased the property to get started in the real estate space, however I value the walkability of the property, its proximity to parks and nightlife.Although the area is a rated roughly as a “C class” neighborhood.

Thanks to both of you guys.I'm planning this sale as a cash deal, so no real estate agents and the buyer has several other duplexes in the Peoria area (3 of them within two blocks of this house).

6 properties over 6 years is impressive.If you continue on this approach, you may be able to do better than 1 property per year if you make more money with your employer and are generating cash-flow from your renttal properties.Why switch strategies if you have something working for you?

Multi fam is harder to cash flow here but we can surely find some deals.

If the property can be sold with conventional financing I am on the other side of things (and the minority) they seller financing is a bad idea due to the risk and the returns especially when considering tax ramifications The idea behind it would be that I sell using seller financing to continue to cash flow each month at a high effective rate with the amortization schedule and put a balloon after 7 years so that I can collect the full amount once the effective rate in the amortization schedule starts to balance out and not be so lucrative in my favor.I’d love to hear more of your opinion on that idea!