If your bottom line is such that having an immediate negative cash flow situation will significantly hurt you then I wouldn’t do it.

You could try to weather the negative cash flow and refi later.

There's much more to consider than the negatives you mentioned.  

Like @Sean Graham said, you can have positive cashflow but zero or negative net income-->and thus no taxes. 

If your goal is stability and less volatility, an LTR could be more predictable, but it wouldn’t give you the cash flow cushion you’re looking for.Pros:More predictable income with less management effort than STR.Lower vacancy rates compared to STR.Less risk of fluctuating occupancy rates.Cons:Potential negative cash flow if maintenance and repairs exceed margins.Limited growth potential for income.3.

Putting less down may subsequently put you in a break-even scenario or possibly even a negative cash flow.

I'm now looking to house hack in Dallas or the surrounding areas (likely Arlington) but am a bit stuck on how to run the numbers.When calculating cash flow on the my duplex in Indiana I took into account PITI, vacancy reserves, maintenance and repairs reserves and utilities to get down to my net cash flow amount.When running the same calculations using 5% down on the house hack, I find myself quite a bit in the negative.

REITS can be more highly volatile where they have super strong years and really negative years for returns.An UPREIT is another tool in the toolbelt of investing.

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

Besides the prices for rentals on campus are so high, very difficult to find one without negative cashflow.