Donald Cooley The owner of the business has been pretty open about how their business operates, and I've learned a lot from him.

What permits and or licenses are needed to operated in the state of Pennsylvania?   

@Jason Dillard   I agree with your premise in non appreciating  markets were its a given that appreciation is not going to happen at any appreciable rate .... in those markets your NUTS to buy anything that can't cash flow significantly and or you have bought it under market ( IE retail value) And it really depends on your ability to scale and run an operation.. you need a crap load of doors bringing in 200 a month to make any serious money  like a 100 or more.

Okay so here's my scenario: you are a business owner in the area, but you are tied up in running your operations.

When folks headhunt me, I ask for three things.1) Access to their interest rate pricing.2) Put me on the phone with the regional underwriting manager. 3) Put me on the phone with your regional operations manager.4) I'm not interested in talking to you, headhunter/recruiter dude, so go away.I have found that there is absolutely a trade-off.

I also thought about considering inclusion of either a new fridge or washer/dryer to add as one time operating costs (1,000 under repairs and maintenance)I wound up getting a taxable income of 950 bucks after things like debt service and depreciation.

I have clients that own 1 to 5 vacation rentals here on Mau i and once you hit that threshold of 5 you may be put into a commercial status (5+ units), so qualifying can be a bit more difficult, looking at such things as:What has that person owned and what has been their management experience collecting rent and managing propertiesThe borrower's credit score, income and personal and business tax returns will be considered along with two years' operating statements and a current rent roll for the property.Also important are property metrics, such as: Net operating income: The annual income, minus expenses that a property generates from its operationsDebt service coverage: Measure of cash flow relative to debt payment obligationsLoan-to-value (LTV) ratio: A measure of the loan amount relative to the value of the propertyThe property has to service its debt at a comfortable marginOf course each lender can be a bit different, so it's good to shop around if needed.I hope that helps.BTW - what do you consider big money?  

I've been doing taxes for ever, and thought that if you paid off your rental mortgage your taxes would be increased due to all of the rental income being profit (except for the operating expenses). 

I managed my first operation at 22.

We are a full service flip and hold property operation here in Kansas City.