Hi Eric,If you are talking about your personal tax liability (at the federal level), the formula I use is: NOI-Total Debt Service= Cash Flow; Cash Flow+Principal Payments Added Back (on debt service)-Depreciation=Taxable Income/Loss. 

My long commute for work is totally worth it for me because when I get home I highly value the open space and slower pace. 

Obviously no ..

If you put 20% down ($20k) and financed the rest ($80k), at 5% for 30 years (Total Interest = $74.6k), if you go the full term, the TOTAL cost to buy your home would be = $174,604.63However, if you buy a home to rent, and you have positive cash flow (this is important), and like above put the same DP of $20k down, with the same interest rate, term, etc..., the TOTAL cost of the this home to you would be = $20,000.Why? 

I know the obvious name, phone number, and email address.

This book totally changed my way of thinking. 

He has two personal homes in LA valued at 45 mil total, idk if that is in the math though.

Also, looking for a strategy to approach an obviously motivated REO sale.

For reference, the total rental income is ~$3500 and we are fairly flexible in how much we can put down, though less is obviously better for leverage.

Never post on a public forum how much cash you have sitting around.Be prepared for lots of random colleague requests and messages now.The answer to your question totally depends on your goals and risk tolerance.Do you want to buy SFH's or MFR's?