Well, they may have other properties doing great and need the tax write off... maybe they're expecting great appreciation of the property and will sell it later... maybe rents are rapidly rising and they expect to be cash flow positive in 20 years when they plan to retire anyhow... or after the mortgage is paid off...Who knows?

That would cut into your expenses a good amount, add property taxes, insurance, property management, repairs, capex, and a small vacancy rate and you can see that number starts to go down rapidly.

When I talk to new investors, the first question I always ask is "Are you just looking for the investment benefits of real estate (cash flow, appreciation, tax benefits) or are you looking to build a side hustle business around real estate investing?"

It runs background checks, credit reports, eviction/criminal reports, template leases, a Docusign-like program to sign lease agreements, rent collection, tax consolidation for EOY tax time, etc. 

Consult with experts, such as real estate agents, financial advisors, lawyers, and tax professionals, to help you navigate the investment process and meet all legal and financial obligations.Good luck!

One thing you didn't talk about was equity, taxes, or ROE.

The initial returns are lower on paper in better locations (lower cap rate, less initial cashflow according to the magic spreadsheet), but the overall returns in reality are much better including all the different ways people make money in real estate (gained equity through natural and forced appreciation, principle pay-down, increasing rents= higher cash flow when looking at the big picture if you buy and hold, depreciation tax benefits, plus way less of the big profit killers like turnover, non-paying tenants, property damage and theft, dealing with bad contractors because good ones don’t choose to work in bad areas either, etc.). 

Ina, there are several lenders servicing the NYC multi family space that pretty loose about income and tax returns as long as the property shows decent rental income. 

I don't make much money from a tax return stand point but I don't think it'd affect my DTI since I'd be using potential income and I don't have debt.

As Chris mentioned it works the same, however, the tax credits and incentives may be different for a primary home vs a rental.