Joel Owens,What was your investment intent when you purchased the apartments?

., having the "good" tenant apply with the intention of the "poor" partner living there, then they would have been more sneaky.

So I have no intention of buying and not caring about cash flow.Thanks for the advice.

She left this intentionally vague, both for me to be flexible, and also so some of her more greed-headed grandchildren don't go nuts.

My intent this year was to pickup the pace... but with all this financial mess...the Banks got very tight...and needless to say...I only bought 3 properties this year...

I live in Northern California and I will be marketing here with the primary intent to wholesale. 

The first investor is me who I describe in the paragraph below and the second investor is someone who will put less down with the intent to acquire 4 duplexes.Keep in mind the total rent paid for both units in each duplex is $2,100.Total Fannie Mae conventional loan amount:$180,000Loan Term:30 yearsInterest rate:5.25%DP @ 25%:$45,000Closing costs @ 3%:$5,000Mortgage Monthly payment which includes property taxes:$998.84Insurance:$142.00Sewer, Water and Garbage:$104.00Average monthly expenses:$150.00Renovation and painting expenses for early 2015:$8,000Roof in 8 years:$11,000The second investor decides to go with an FHA loan so that they only have to put 3.5% as a DP.Here are the specifics.FHA Total loan amount:$180,000Loan Term:30 yearsInterest rate:5.25%DP @ 3.5%:$6,300MIP:$123.04Upfront FHA MIP:$3040.00Monthly taxes:$250.00Insurance:$142.00Sewer, Water and Garbage:$104.00Average monthly expenses per duplex:$150.00 X 4 duplexes = $600.00Monthly Mortgage payment:$1,491.00Closing costs @ 3% rolled into loan:$5,000Renovation and painting expenses for early 2015:$8,000Roof in 8 years:$11,000 per duplexTotal money required at closing for purchasing duplex using FHA loan:$14,340Using that figure, investor 2 can buy 3 duplexes and cannot afford a 4th home.That leaves investor 2 with $6980 as disposable cash.So investor 2 borrows$7360 (loan term=72 months)from Family at 8% to help buy duplex #4.Private money lender monthly expense:$110.40Investor #1 monthly cash flow per duplex:$705.16Investor #2 monthly cash flow per duplex:$244.60 X 4 duplex’s = $978.4*As you can see Investor #2 has more cash flow each month.2014Investor #1: NOI 2014 = $8,461.92Investor #2: NOI 2014 = $11,740.802015Investor #1:$8461.92 (NOI 2015) - $8000 (Code violation to paint 1 duplex for $3,000 and renovate unit #2 @ $5,000)= $461.92Investor #2: $11,740.80 (NOI 2015) - $32,000 (Code violation to paint 4 duplexes for $3,000 each and renovate unit #2 @ $5,000 each) =-$20,259.202016Investor #1: $461.92 (2015 balance) + $8,461.92 (2016 NOI) = $8,923.84 (2016 Year end Gross) Investor #2: -$20,259.20 (2015 balance) + $11,740.80 (2016 NOI) = -$8,518.40 (2016 Year end Gross)2017Investor #1: $8,923.84 (2016 balance) + $8,461.92 (2017 NOI) = $17,358.76 (2017 Year end Gross)Investor #2:$8,518.40 (2016 balance) + $11,740.80 (2017 NOI) = $3,222.40 (2017 Year end Gross)*It took 3 years for Investor #2 out of the Red.2018Investor #1: $17,358.76 (2017 balance) + $8,461.92 (2018 NOI) = $25820.68 (2018 Year end Gross)Investor #2: $3,222.40 (2017 balance) + $11,740.80 (2018 NOI) =$14963.20 (2018 Year end Gross)2019Investor #1: $25820.68 (2018 balance) + $8,461.92 (2019 NOI) = $34282.60 (2019 year end gross)Investor #2: $14963.20 (2018 balance) + $11,740.80 (2019 NOI) = $26,704.00 (2019 Year end gross)2020Investor #1: $34282.60 (2019 balance) + $8,461.92 (2020 NOI) = $42744.52 (2020 Year end gross)Investor #2:$26,704.00 (2019 balance) + $11,740.80 (2020 NOI) = $38444.80 (2020 Year end gross)2021Investor #1: $42744.52 (2020 balance) + $8,461.92 (2021 NOI) = $51206.44 (2021 Year end gross)Investor #2: $38444.80 (2020 balance) + $11,740.80 (2021 NOI) = $50185.60 (2021 Year end gross)2022This is the year the roofs need to be redone on the duplexes.The cost per duplex is $11,000.Investor #1 – Total cost for new roof on single duplex building = $11,000Investor #2 – Total costs for new roof on 4 duplex buildings - $44,000Investor #1: $51206.44 (2021 balance) + $8,461.92 (2022 NOI) - $11,000 (new roof) = $48,668.36 (2022 Year end gross)Investor #2: $50185.60 (2021 balance) + $11,740.80 (2022 NOI) - $44,000 (4 new roofs) = $17,926.40 (2022 Year end gross) After 9 years as you can see Investor #1 has $48,668.36 in savings and Investor #2 only has $17,926.40.My conclusion up to this point is that having more properties may bring in more cash flow each month at first, but expenses can wipe out those savings quickly.Eventually the cash flow from investor #1 should outpace Investor #2 as proven by the larger balance.Let me know what you think from my example.I tried to keep everything completely even between the two investors, the only difference is the way the two investors choose to spread their intitial cash.I’m personally more in favor of doing it my way.

We talked briefly on our intentions and listened closely as he relayed his three decades of experience. 

When I first started, I had every intention of wholesaling in the US..in Austin, TX then Albany, NY.

I was obtaining a pre-qualification for a home loan, and was asked to sign the: Rate Lock Agreement,  Disclosure Notices, Servicing Disclosure Statement, Right to Receive Copy of Appraisal, Appraisal Delivery Timing Waiver, GFE Acknowledgment, Notice of Intent to Proceed, Flood Insurance Determination, Certification and Authorization, Transcript of Tax Return, Insurance Disclosure, Truth in Lending Disclosure, GFE, Housing Counseling Agencies Notice, Uniform Residential Loan Application.Should I sign these documents?