Location, location, location.  

Will depend on several factors like the type of property, type of tenants, your risk tolerance, other assets you own, your estate planning, laws where the property is located, etc.

If your properties are all located in CA I would advise looking in states like IN, OH, FL, TN, OR, GA and a few other states depending on comfort zone.

@Daniel GrantzRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

I'm located in Daytona Beach, FL.

Where are your properties located?

The tax benefits refer to the tax deductions from mortgage interest and property tax.The returns mainly rely on appreciation, and the cash flow only improves in the last few years, also depending on securing the 5% refinance rate.I've learned a lot from this forum, but as I start to operate on my own, I'm still not completely confident.

However, what is far more important for financial freedom is the location/city where you invest.The city where you invest is far more important than the current interest rate.

Quote from @Rachel Jane: First post, no idea what I’m doing, lolMy grandfather passed away and left me his condo, which is fully paid off (and located in a seniors residence) It’s worth approx $500,000 (CAD).

Unfortunately, it's now going to get more complicated:(There are two types of approaches PMCs use to bill for maintenance:1) In-house ServiceTechs on the payroll, so owners are billed for their time by the hour.While the labor charges above are useful, they don't cover the true costs a PMC incurs, like:- Payroll costs for FICA, Social Security, Medicare, etc. that typically add 25-40% to the hourly rate- Medical insurance costs for the worker- Payroll processing costs to handle all of the above- Liability insurance costs in case worker damages something or injures someone- Workman's Compensation insurance- Costs of vehicles and tools- and more...Typically the management contract will disclose the total hourly rate an owner will be charged.