The rent-to-price ratio is a quick way to measure if a property might cash flow.

Everything I see for the northern VA area and beyond market is just so unattainable; it seems like unless you have a down payment, that is way way way more than 20 percent, there is no way to get any positive cash flow.

There's obviously opportunity here to build this out and turn it into a basement apartment, which I think would cash flow because of course there's no mortgage. 

It’s a real mix of considerations.

I shifted from investing with a cash flow focus to the appreciation and tax benefits side of things.

Or keep a nice little cash flow for 15 years!!

This is a significant down side to me as a long term investor as it basically wipes out your cash flow. 

Once you’ve set up and marketed your rental, use the cash flow to scale your portfolio over time.

I can definitely tell you there's still a lot of positive cash flowing and 1% rule deals and you get amazing appreciation.

Our aim is to maximize appreciation and rent growth while still cash flowing enough to break even after all expenses in the short term.