I’m Karena, based in Danbury, Connecticut, and excited to officially join the Bigger Pockets community after lurking for a couple of months, soaking up all the knowledge I can!

As @Chris Seveney points out above, often the income winds up being ordinary and subject to SE tax.

Also, when you have a seemingly good tenant that ends up not renting, I always like to ask for feedback on why they chose not to rent.  

Similar with a SFH: I can at least get in the market with a 5% conventional loan not expecting cash flow but hoping appreciation will help me out in the next 2+ years and I will at least be able to put up the remainder of the expenses since I do live with my parents.I am young so I could be overthinking, but my end goal is to have a portfolio where I can cash flow enough within the next 5-15 years to let go of my job (5k clean a month).

This way I have more flexibility with what I want to do with my money, and if I keep it up for another 20 years, who knows, maybe I'll be able to use it to pay off my mortgage as a lump sum at a later date if I choose to do so.

If you consistently analyze properties, recognizing a good deal will be much easier when it shows up.

She has done joint ventures and someone defaulted on the loan and she got caught up in the mix, so now she wants to work with investors and their contracts.

White is also still popular in flips due to buyers being able to change it easier upon closing or if lighting is poor and the space needs to be brightened up.  

I would do the following: Get a really good home inspection, if anything comes up, do not close until the things are fixed.

I would end up paying about 500K more in the loan with this new interest rate, unfortunately.