I like to have at least 3 months expenses in my operating accounts.

But you decided to take a 10, 15, 20 year term which means higher PITI payment and lower monthly cash flow?

$1775 monthly payments to seller, straight to the principle, with a 48-month balloon.

However, if you have to pay them back in a short period of time and make high interest-only payments monthly, that might work against you.Have you tried asking for owner financing terms for the $230k?

I also get baby bonding through CA, which is paid family leave, and I plan to use this strategically to spend more time at home.When I buy the starter home, based on my calculations, I'd be saving around $6-7k per month.

She went ahead and hired a pest company, signed a contract for the next 18 months, to come and remedy the problem.

.- Rent was $1,750/month, but the mortgage was $1,900/month, plus an HOA fee of $360/month.- This meant I was out of pocket $510 each month.Fire Incident:- In November 2022, a fire in the unit above caused water damage to my unit.

Lenders usually require 6 months in reserves / savings for property mortgage, taxes and insurance.

I'm sure this one purchase had a huge impact on your monthly overhead and will allow you to save that much more for your next deal. 

It took about 9 months to stabilize it and then I cash out refinanced it.