Are you treating this like a business or hobby? 

Since my reserves were already at a comfortable level, I found making extra mortgage payments every few months didn’t affect the cash position, so I treated the whole process as if I had incurred a large repair bill that month which reduced the cash flow.With rentals, every now and again a month would come along where I had to cover several repairs and it might take one or two months before I saw positive cash flow again.

But much hinges on how your accountant has treated it over the years.

@Calvin Kwan I have no direct experience in this type of situation, but I personally would look in to a pressure treated or trex decking solution. 

@Michael Ndjondo makadiHouse hacking makes your tax situation more complex.You purchased a property that is treated as both an investment property and a personal residence.

Treat your rental properties like a 401k.

Treat it as a cost of doing business.

However certain markets will treat these 6 units based off of previous sales as a price per door type approach and ignore the income approach all together.

It will be treated as income but you deduct the water bill against it so it should come close to zeroing out.

@Michael BakerHi Michael,I have decided that a duplex is the best move.I have a max purchase price limit that I wont go above or I won’t have enough money to finish the process.There are duplexes available at or under my max number in my area.Basically I have budgeted to hold for 2 months while we renovate.10% down is what I am planning to put down.Then I have enough left for reserves, closing and all the other costs associated with closing the deal.It would have a low cash flow if I treated it strictly as a rental (at least at the beginning).I have some plans to increase the income on the property that will allow me to cash flow better within a year of buying it.