It’s great to see someone diving into the live-and-flip strategy, especially here in the Seattle metro area where appreciation potential can make it a smart play for building equity.Your strategy is solid, and focusing on hands-on experience through live-and-flip projects is a fantastic way to learn the ropes while building capital.

So if I am looking at an asset as a 10 year play - I look more at the location, schools and how has this market performed in the past excluding covid and 2008 which were extenuating circumstances.Reality is right now shorter term plays do not work based on numbers and cost of financing - we went through this same thing in 2001-2004ish timeframe where properties would appreciate 2-3% per year and after buying costs and closing costs - you were not making money on assets unless you performed the labor or found a really good deal.this is how real estate "typically" is - which is why everyone always says location location location - because after a decent holding period, you will win.

Leaves an immediate bad impression.Entry Door: This seems silly but make sure your front door opens and closes easily without the need to play around with the door. 

How will it all play out? 

In playing with the numbers a bit, I'm seeing a trend of atleast 2% rent to price and (ideally) < 7% mortgage rate needed to achieve a decent cash on cash rate.

And I also think that the inventory in your market plays a large role in deciding what property type makes the most sense.In my market, there is a large abundance of the small multi-family properties, especially the 2-4 unit properties.

A 4-plex would be ideal and you could play around with doing 1 long-term, 1 mid-term, and 1 short-term, plus you, if it works on your area to upgrade your income.

Negotiating felt like a game of chess—except I was playing against a grandmaster, and my queen was missing.

@Chris Seveney @Marcos A Miranda - you guys are playing with fire - https://www.biggerpockets.com/search?

This plays into the affordability issues for tenants by allowing them to live in nicer neighborhoods for less money, yet I get monthly revenue comparable to short-term rentals.I have also shifted my focus to buying better.