After a quick conversation with the store sales associate, we realize just how simple the installation would have been had we done it ourselves.

I think a lot of multifamily is top cycle and tapped out right now.Wage increases are stagnant for the middle class and are not keeping up with inflation.

@Celena LathropThat train of thought still runs inside me but I believe I need to keep on increasing my credit score, pay off as much debt as I can before I am able to make that type of purchase right?

You can easily pour $10,000 into a renovation that will only increase the sale price of a home by $4,000.

Buying a rental, even a turn-key, increases your income.

Somehow, my cousin is convinced that if something worse were to happen to his parents (they are 90 and 88 yrs old with increasingly challenging health issues), and they would to be cared for in a nursing home, that the state of NJ would step in and claim all the assets to "pay" for their care.  

The answer depends on the speed you can get a simple, professional website with basic information and a fillable form to capture customer data.

That's the simple part to think about.

How you ultimately financed it, upfront when you purchased it (or how you might refinance it later) is irrelevant.Just do a simple search on the internet for depreciating rental real estate property, you will find a virtually limitless number of sources that can explain basic depreciation mechanics - its not rocket science.

I would definitely increase the rents to where they make sense for the deal immediately, but keep them month to month just in case they are nightmare tenants.