The cash flow should determine a landlord's salary, 50 homes should equal 60,000 dollars a year.

Better timing equal better results.Don

I can take nuggets from all you guys to equal that magic formula.

Franklin If the house mortgage is equal to or less than you would pay in rent, it could be a deal, esp if you can ad a room mate to your mix or rent out that garage for extra savings for that down payment.

If not, you will be in a forced position to sell which equals loss.I would suggest some alternatives to finance this or at least some back-ups such as private money.

The security deposit I paid initially was equals about 1.5 months rent.What are my options at this point?

Unlike Michael (above), I don't differentiate based on whether the financing is my own cash or a rehab loan (my two primary sources of financing).In either case, my risk is the the same (either my cash or my credit score, both of which are equally important).And, in either case, I'm looking for a minimum of $15K in profit on a typical flip that I buy in the $40-60K range and sell in the $100-140K range.Not knocking Michael's requirements...as he pointed out, there is no "one size fits all" answer, and you need to figure out what works for you and satisfies both your requirements and your risk tolerance.

Could it be that he makes more cash taking $1,000 from thousands of poeple equalling millions in profit with only marketing expenses and effort!

My business is lower-end, inner-city, and from my personal experience, what I do is positive.•Vacant houses return to the tax roles providing more revenues for local government•Rehabilitated property reduces that impact of housing shortages•Investors utilize many resources from agents, lenders and appraisers to title agencies, attorneys, construction crews, landscapers and on and on•Incomes are generated and local businesses are patronized •A flourishing housing market equals a flourishing economy•And I help other aspiring entrepreneurs become successful real estate investorsIn 1999, after a year of reading books, “harassing†other investors and faxing typed letters from the floor of my apartment (Yes, with a typewriter.

I have a decent sized LOC (at least I think it is decent sized) and thinking about using it to purchase buy and hold rental properties, using it for the down payment or cash purchase depending on the value of the property, one year later refinancing (hopefully pull equal money out I put in) and repeat.