Have you kept enough in reserve for inevitable unplanned expenses? 

In all that time, squirreling away my excess cash in a savings account, I could have instead put that money to work for me!

Here is a Quote from one of my earlier posts:----------------------I know Investors tend to think of only in terms of Today and find it very unpredictable to think of tomorrow, but please remember that even Squirrels think about tomorrow as they put away their Nuts for the Winter.

It took us awhile to settle on our two homes we bought and built and our success with those homes just in terms of equity growth was unplanned, and yet an educated, calculated risk.

This was unplanned as it was an estate and I had no idea until several months after closing that I had also purchased the large adjoining lot. 

We squirreled away funds (the 10% savings account while deployed, hostile fire, family sep, hazard pay, COLA, flight pay).  

Here's a thought that might help you decide.If you are earning income in Mass and not filing an entity or individual tax return on it, you will be having bigger problems than just a $500 unplanned expense.  

• There will always be unplanned expenses so in addition to the down payment and initial rehab you need a cash reserve.

Always have CapEx for unplanned expenses.The way I look at it, mid 30s is still pretty young, so you have plenty of room to take some risks for higher reward, with enough time to recover should those risks take a turn for the worse.

You are right that it has been a lot of work for what is currently cash flowing at about $40/month, but this was a bit of an unplanned BRRR.