I’m renting 2bd/2bth apartments in Redwood City for $3400, and yours is a townhome near google, I’m assuming with private garage plus the extra half bath. 

Sellers may only show numbers that will help them sell the property anyway, so it’s best to be skeptical of everything they show you and build in some extra expenses regardless of what the seller claims their operating costs to be.

Thanks @Tim Herman, what if borrower pays extra that goes into principle?

 There are many different ways to create a business model I would definitely make sure I understand all the laws and regulations such as fair housing discrimination fair credit reporting act and local property code before you go down this path you may be creating a lot of extra work in a lot of potential lawsuits and litigation if you’re not versed on the laws that protect tenants  I would just ask yourself what the goal of the reason you’re doing that is if it’s to save a little bit money or not deal with an incompetent property management company then you may want to change companies before you go through all of this work just as a side bar of what you’re trying to do

I was not sure if paying down the primary as well gives me any extra leverage because it is not a rental?

Initial cashflow if we rented the whole place out would be $150-200/month (plus potential extra income from occasional AirBnB bookings of the bonus room with its own separate entrance).

You would think that people would take into account the extra cost of paying their own utilities, but doesn’t always happen.

Even an extra week or two of vacancy would be worth it if I can get rid of the water bills.Thoughts?

I wasn’t considering the extra equity that I gained in my calculations and I was counting my mortgage being paid by the tenant adding to my return over time.

Purchase price: $55,000 Cash invested: $70,000 Sale price: $173,000 This was a medium rehab where the roof needed to be partially repaired, extra 1/2 bathroom added, cosmetics, & flooring was done.