You should read the lease contract, see how much the monthly payments are compared to what the electricity bills were before solar at the property, look for a fixture filing or lien in the contract, and go from there.

As a rental unit it is pretty bad to invest in compared to apartments, the competition, and financing. 

NYC uses a magic formula (statistical analysis) to figure out how much your property is worth based on comparing size, style, and age of your unit with your neighborhood. 

I'd like to add that in addition to look at traditional ways to invest in real estate, look at some non-traditional.

Cash, traditional financing, something else?

Rentors are easy to deal compared to former owners.

The 1st Quarter numbers are in - these numbers compare January - March 2018 to the same period in 2017.

This is why cap rate is commonly used to compare one property against another to determine which is a better investment.When you measure ROI specific to you (i.e. the investor), then yes it makes more sense to use your down payment.

Hope you are dead on and you saved a ton of $$....But let us know in 6-18 months......I've seen too many " the pro wanted $xxx dollars and I got a handyman/guy off Craigslist to do it for 1/4 of that price", only to have that job/repair/equipment fall apart in a few months and cost double to fix it compared to having it done right the first timeIf it all work out, fantastic....but sometimes you really do get what you pay for.....

Cash-on-cash is relative and it is only one metric...and it really only works for year one to put properties on a level playing field so we can compare where to put our limited dollars.