I got burned with that one, died again just after the warrantee expired.

If you are not enforcing your lease and maintaining strict standards to train tenants to your requirements your are an amateur that will eventually be reputedly burned. 

While I think it's wise to game this out, I would not make any plans based on permanently low interest rates and cap rates, since that's a sure fire way to get burned.  

To your point you can get burned very badly if you cannot afford to diversify, but that's what happens when you play with fire while chasing returns.

I love talking about it, I love looking at houses, I love making offers, I LOVE when those offers are accepted, I love the back and forth negotiations, I love the possibility of what an ugly house can become, I love the process of making an ugly house better, I love listing the finished product, I love signing the closing documents and I love cashing big fat checks!

however the 5% allocation does easily cover the cost of rental income protection. 3. did you know that only 0.4% of all structures in the U.S. burn down - Yet EVERY ONE OF US has fire insurance.      

Obviously he has been burned.

You can also do a "burn down" of the security deposit.

Like I said I am new to this financing from a Flip/Reno side so I am looking for the best way to fund short term without getting burned on financing.  

DON'T USE THE "50-CENT" OUTLETS UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR HOUSE TO BURN DOWN!