Yes I have known it to work because the owner is not a push over, enforces policy and can make it run good......however, do you have the right personality to do this, AND if you move out can you continue to have the house run smoothly with no one in charge.  

It was a personal referral, received a credit at closing for renovations as well How did you finance this deal?

This is basically a math problem that will depend on both you personal finances & also how much of this is an investment vs you want a nice house to live in4.

I've sold over 80 homes personally in the last 30 months and I'm usually within $5k of the appraisal report when I run my CMA for clients.

I personally started in my local real estate market in Columbus Ohio.

@Tom Nagy There are a number of existing forum threads covering the challenges RAD Diversified has faced with a number of investor's personal accounts of their own experiences.

It’s important to recognize that your landlord likely isn’t thinking about selling the property right now, especially given their personal circumstances.

You could give them a thousand bad reviews, if they are the only person in town offering a specific type of product, people will still do business with them.

Right now, the best offers around me are for some 1.3-4 million, that only generated around 100k per year gross, so there would be a high chance of not cash flowing, and paying money, especially with a commercial loan (these buildings have more than 4 units).I was thinking that although the rental itself does not generate money, I would be able to deduct the mortgage interest, and depreciation from my personal w2 income and would be net positive.

However, you can get loans that are based on the performance of the rental and not your personal income and debt.