I told him as much, but he inherited the current setup and is happy to be an out-of-sight owner.

But if you're deciding between using that $36k in cash to pay off debt which will cost you $5,000 over the next 3 years or investing it in an endeavor that will give you $15,000 on top of your principle in that same time frame... intuitively you're better off investing it.

Don't be too surprised if others operate under the same set of principles.

Obviously, some might be better than others but as long as you stick by principles (positive cashflow only, estimate conservatively on repair costs, etc) you can do well anywhere you live.

You can't subtract principle payments, though.

Six months PITI (principle, interest, taxes, insurance, i.e., you monthly payment if this had conventional financing) is my guideline.

BP is the first sight we tell them about.Don

But, one of the major principles of negotiation is that if you make it too easy for the other side to get their way, they're going to feel as if they didn't get a very good deal (which is why you should always counter every offer, even if you're happy with it); in this case, the bank made it too easy, basically telling us that we left money on the table.

Any of these purchases would be sight unseen, no?

But it's not necessarily that abundant and concentrated and maybe in plain sight, and most of all, not the first word that comes to mind when thinking of the area.