If you pull permits and renovate, both your property taxes and insurance are very likely to increase, causing your cash flow situation to decrease.

The result - DECREASING ANNUAL NET OPERATING INCOME & DECREASING RETURN ON EQUITYI am not saying investors should not invest in Texas.

One way or another, however, the investors must work to pay down loans, increase rents and decrease expenses wherever possible.

So I decreased my debt by about $40k.

Evaluate historical and current vacancy rates, aiming for decreasing trends.Demographics: For younger populations, focus on proximity to parks and schools.

We're seeing no decrease in rents for our LTRs in far northern CA in solid B to B- neighborhoods.

So, if you can make a deal today at today's rates that cash-flows positively after refi, if you manage it well and hold onto it over time rents will likely increase and you will likely be able to decrease your expenses when rates go down and you can refinance again.

One piece of advice I would give anyone, is make sure you spread risk out among several operators in several markets to decrease your downside risk. 

I’m really drawn to REI so I can spend more time with my family (spouse and 2 kids), retire a little earlier, and decrease the constant stress from my current job.I’ve owned my home together, with my husband, in Boston, MA (purchased Jan 2020) and also a STR in Ludlow, VT (purchased Apr 2018) near a ski resort.

That said, for 1 of the tenants, everything went smoothly until year 3 when City Fheps decreased the voucher amount, took days/weeks to respond to my client, made incomplete payments to my client, etc.