Just my 2 cents...feel like HELOCs and other ways to cash in on crazy equity is resulting in a lot of these cash transactions though.

The new investment earns $24,000 a year, but the cost of the mortgage + the equity loan will be $22,332—and that’s before you account for taxes, insurance, maintenance, capital expenditures, vacancies, etc.

This means no per booking fees for our owners, which adds up to a bundle of cash over the course of a year.  

Cash flow is better here, but appreciation is less (CA is off the charts for this metric compared to most of the country, so it's not that OK is bad- depends on your goals and expectations). 

If you are cash, lets chat.

I've been told Cash for keys is a good method but how do you go about doing that?

Like Living in South Africa but earning in dollars, currency conversion rich. 

If those do not work then go buy a rental that does not cash flow. :) 

But the idea of solving the water problem in a way that generates cash flow intrigues me. 

@Mohamad Guene  Simple answer - you will be cash flow negative, and your appreciation will be limited.We did a new build once for a rental - it performed miserably cash flow wise despite a great location and property - we ended up selling it 3 years later.There are very few new builds in Huntsville proper - are you referring to an outlying area like New Market or Meridianville?