Lesson: don't do illegal things like rent out units that aren't up to code  - some people with paid off properties try to be cheap and do things like this or do under the table rent so they don't report rental income to the IRS.

It's shown that over 85% of investors who take out a Heloc refinance to consolidate the heloc into their mortgage in 3-5 years.As a Banker I tell people every day "Do not" let a low first rate stop you from buying more properties to build more doors, which builds more passive income. 

My wife and I wanted a rental property for passive investment income to try to get ahead in life.

I would love to get his thoughts on how that is going and if the headache is worth the uptick in income. 

Thanks to the Cost Segregation Study, the property investors accelerated the depreciation that the first year depreciation was approximately $182,900.The use of the accelerated depreciation strategy helps real estate investors to reduce the tax liability immediately which therefore increases their bottom line due to the offsetting of income.

In our experience in Denver and Colorado Springs with midterms, it take 12-18 months for the extra income from it being an MTR to pay for the furnishings.

How do people then generate a monthly rental income? 

Understanding and taking advantage of the variety of tax credits boosts the return on your property and allows you to be part of the move to conserve our nation’s historic treasures.When rehabilitating or investing in the rehabilitation of an eligible historic or non-historic building, you may be able to take advantage of one or both of the historic tax credits: 1) Historic Tax Incentives and 2) Historic Preservation Tax CreditsYou can receive a federal income tax credit equal to 20% of the costs associated with rehabilitating the building.

However, the nights they cancelled have already been completely filled by other guests, so I didn't really lose the opportunity to generate income. 

Anyone can declare real estate losses against their active income if their income is under the AGI threshold but only someone whose PRIMARY profession is designated to be a real estate professional will be able to offset active income.