It also requires a small monthly payment, so once it's started we've got our impetus to meet at least once a month (lol).Speaking of which, I'd say it's nearing the time to propose another Yokohama area meet-up!

He does not handle evictions themselves, just the collections.It's been nice to cut him loose on deadbeat tenants, and get back payments over time for judgements against them.

With your wife being a real estate professional, you have a valuable edge for maximizing tax deductions.

I just post a reply to a very old thread so I am just going to cut and past it here.

You don't buy a house sub2 if you don't have sufficient capital to make payments if something happens to your renter/buyer.  

I know this because I have 5 two bedrooms there.You could have possibly been lucky to break even in 2023 but now that HELOC on your primary home that you used as a down payment for your cabin is calling at an even higher interest rate than you planned on because the cash flow wasn't what you thought it'd be so it wasn't paid down as quickly as planned.

You may also consider looking for lease with option to own opportunities, for the same reason; lower your down payment- then use the leasing period to build up what you need to exercise the option to purchase. 

To protect their time and try to, you know make some money, many PMCs that do placements for less than one-month of rent, cut corners like:- Not putting it on the MLS or offering a ridiculously low split to other agents, so those agents do NOT show the property.- Only doing showings at specific days & times, leading to longer vacancies- Requiring prospects to fill out applications first, before scheduling a showing to protect their time invested/wasted (which turns off some prospects, leading to longer vacancies).- Charging owners for pics- Charing inflated application fees to make, you know, some money for their time spent- Some even charge tenants MoveIn Fees and other charges to make money.So, don't be short-sighted and expect PMCs to work for free!

There are still areas where you can buy units for $200k/ door but they require a lot of work usually and covering all operating expenses and interest payments can be challenging base on low-ish rent levels in some places.

Congrats on taking the first step, usually people get hung up on only one strategy, and the best way to start your real estate investing journey is house hacking with lower down payments and interest rate since it is a new primary residence, especially since you can probably rent out your primary and cash flow when you move out.I'm a local investor and realtor here in Denver metro, and I've found success with house hacking here in Denver for myself (rent by room, Airbnb, Section 8, LTRs, etc) along with my clients too.