I don't think your first property needs to be perfect, but doing the work in advance gives you the possibility of refi (in a good rate environment) or more equity on a HELOC.

Another alternative here could be refinancing although it is likely your rate is well below today's rates.This is not financial advice, I am not a lender... just sharing some insights that have been shared recently. 

It is going to be near impossible to cash flow on a property with 100% financing, especially if that partners rates are above conventional rates.

I wanted to help them out and minimize their loss and saw an opportunity to get a property slightly below market because of my commission savings, immediate mortgage and maintenance relief, in addition to keeping a lower short term interest rate How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

My interest rate and purchase price wouldn’t allow for positive cash flow unless I charged an unreasonable rent—or put about $500K toward the principal, which isn't ideal.I’m a high earner, so I’m weighing my options:Take the loss ($60K-$100K), buy another house, and chalk this up to a hard lesson learned.Refinance, put more money into it, and rent it out long-term—even if it’s not immediately profitable.Invest my money elsewhere and try to make peace with staying here for several years.Would love to hear thoughts from anyone with experience in real estate, financial strategy, or noise mitigation.

Interest rates or property taxes spike, squeezing your cash flow?

If you aren’t saving the money up to buy another property chances are nothing will pay a higher rate than paying it towards your mortgage.

The key is for you to separate the utility costs from the rent, then advertise your units with the rent rate only and explain the utilities later.HOW TO SHARE UTILITIES 101You have a property with two or more units and the utility meters are shared.

I wanted to help them out and minimize their loss and saw an opportunity to get a property slightly below market because of my commission savings, immediate mortgage and maintenance relief, in addition to keeping a lower short term interest rate How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

If it's already turnkey that means you're paying higher rates than necessary when you could put 20% down and get a DSCR loan with lower rates and fees.