But you must stick to your numbers. hard money is expensive and if the job goes sideways you need as much cushion as you can get to cover the carrying costs.

The loan is an expense for the C corp and this would not be income for me so no 50% tax paid.

I'm running numbers on potential rental property purchases and the monthly expenses beat out monthly income drastically.

I have heard people holding 4-8% of their property value as reserve, also heard 6-8 months of expense.

Is the mortgage extremely expensive?

@Curt Davis,That's an interesting perspective regarding lease length.I understand your point (multi-year leases would appear to provide more consistency and peace of mind for the owner and potentially less turnover and placement expenses over time).

It seems like you're figuring your debt service into your direct operating expenses.

The reason I invest in condos as SFR are really expensive and have negative cash flow on Bay Area .

Areas prone to drought and wildfire probably have increased dwelling premiums also.That being said, if this is normal in those areas, the rent should probably cover those expenses without too much trouble.  

The only apparent necessary capital expense is redoing the roof.