Then add in rent-ready costs and eating up carrying the entire mortgage note while you find tenants....it can set you back even further.

We allowed it, with the requirement that our tenant carried a specific coverage on her renters insurance for it, because it is not one of the breeds specifically excluded by our insurance (such as pit bull, bull dogs, etc).  

When they walk through a property they carry this list around with them. 

Bonus depreciation may be going away so it may be a good time to stock up on this type of depreciation since it can be carried forward.

I also carry a $2M umbrella policy that around $1,200 / year.

Now you are carrying the house upside down for an extended period of time.

Never own a rental where you have to carry a sidearm to collect rent.2.

If you are going to borrow funds to acquire notes, you'll need most of your cash on hand as reserves to carry the obligations you have vs. the income created from the notes (principal, interest, late fees and other assessments, if any).

If it is big and that interest rate risk is too high you may consider refinancing to a FRM and carrying the next loan as an ARM for a small property you acquire.If there are flaws in this logic I would love to hear about them.

But, the smell carries, right?