We combined two one bedrooms to create three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

So just to clarify, my girlfriend and I would be able to use both of our incomes combined to qualify for a larger amount, even if we are not married?

I.e. if they let me use their money combined with a hard money loan with no deed of trust. 

I was told that a previous owner had combined the two lots many years ago for some reason.

Merges (combining tax lots) are not so bad.

In larger rentals, below market rents or a combination of below market rents and unit renovations is another way you force the appreciation of the asset.When people are talking poorly of appreciation is if you buy a turnkey rental, or a flip today, and just assume the market will continue to drive the value up, even though you are not doing anything to truly add value.Finally, on the cash on cash return, this is a very valuable return metric to know. 

I have used a combination of private money for down payment & closing costs and a hard money loan.

We’ve combined our separate meetups into one monthly meetup for the tri-state area to get bigger groups and more discussion topics.3rd Wednesday of every month at 7 PM EST:Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing - Featured TopicLink: https://bit.ly/featuredzenThis is for any and all investors looking to learn about specific topics.

Rental income combined with both units is $3200.

In my analysis so far, I'm yet to find a condo or a multi family which cash flows even with the rent is multi units combined!