I love this sight.

That's why it is even more important to do due diligence when buying out of state sight unseen.

Hypothetical Scenario300,000 sell253,000 borrowed = 85% 300,000 sell-18,000 commissions @6%-8,000 interest est -253,000 principle payback-----_-------21,000 profitSell for 10-15 k less than expected:-( not much room for error, unless he is borrowing some of his "profit"

@Andy WuI would probably take the capital you want to use to pay down principle and buy another property. 

See the principles below.

Your mortgage will then only be principle and interest.With this, you monitor the Tax assessor for appraised value and rate changes.We're luck in Calif as Prop-13 mandates the assessed value to be 1% of purchase price (fixed) so the variations are in the rate changes.For marginal cash flowing rentals, changes in appraised value or tax rates can be a killer.

We know that investors (landlords) come in many forms, from slumlord with short sighted goals to top flight owners who understand giving their customers full value for the rental dollar which I believe has the greatest ROI over time.Nobody ever said it was easy.

You need to know what it will rent for, what your principle/interest, vacancy, insurance, maintenance, and property management will be so you know it will meet your cash flow requirements before every purchasing.  

As an aside, Never bid on a house sight unseen, regardless of any "occupied, do not trespass, etc.".

I ran a hypothetical mortgage payment on a calculator and found that when making double payments (one normal and one principle only) on a 30 yr mortgage you pay less in interest then single payments on a 15 yr.