Also, having a negative slope into the property is a big reason I see water getting into the basement.The one solution that Matt did not mention, which should probably be a last resort is an external or internal french drain.

The Best I would recommend is the Internal Rate of Return (IRR), which will include ALL of the costs, including the cost to sell the property.Add this skill to your Investor Tool Chest and you will be a better informed Investor.To weather a possible Crash, you will have to understand what will make your investment sink.Obvious, if you can't find renters to pay all of your expenses and if you lose your job at the same time, you will sink like a rock.This is exactly why I buy in areas where even in a crash, I can still find renters at approximately the same rent or just below current rents.I also make sure use at worse an 80% LTV / 20% Down payment and do slightly more than just break even on cash flow.

The only way to avoid them is to work with a lender that underwrites directly to the VA guidelines, and does not have their own internal guidelines and overlays.Hope that makes sense!

My question is ,and I’ve been struggling internally with this, should I pull the equity out of my primary residence to pay cash for a multi family or, pull equity for 20% down on the rental ,or just hold off all together approximately 1 year until I have the cash to pay for the 20 % down.

You could try for short term interns to the area or things along those lines but really only makes sense if you are doing a furnished rental.

We specialize in working with international clients like yourself.

Thanks BP for helping investors from all over the world connect, including international real estate investors out here in Korea. 

So ironically, we have a giant post now full of comments from well-experienced investors and lenders but very few, if any, from new-ish investors who recently went through this internal conversation before making the leap.

(Maybe a double major in marketing too or work for someone in real estate sales as an intern while they are finishing their degree.)I understand where people are coming from when they say college is a waste of time & money in this discussion.

Once supply became too much, then prices leveled off, then fell, then worse --> the crater of the Great Recession hit the entire US and prices SUNK - and quite frankly this affected the entire world, because banks were/are now internationally interdependent on each other.