That makes me the enemy landlord who is always trying to get every bit of their overtime check, and then they want every little detail fixed and I get high turnover.Rather, I wait for $700 to hit and say, "Listen, rents have gone way up in the past x years and I haven't touched your's because you've always been a great tenant.

. - Reduced contingencies.

We did discuss as a board having a more hands on property management company but looking around the fees were quite high and the community liked keeping their HOA dues low.

I purchased my first rental property - a newer home in a high-appreciation market and neighborhood - with a business partner, and she and I have had the hardest time getting it rented.

Looking forward to connecting with investors alike and building meaningful relationships within the industry. 

But the IRS says, NO - the first dollar you take out or any amount you reduce your debt by is gonna be profit first. 

The mortgage on the property is still fairly high with a balance of  $285k.

Its certainly hard to cash flow significantly in the current environment (high rates, high values etc) - I tend to think though that just "doing" a first deal even if it doesn't make too much is valuable versus getting stuck in analysis paralysis - the learning from the experience of actual doing it generally is 10X + even a ton of courses, info, spreadsheets etc

You need to bank more money and stop looking for high-percentage leverage that will collapse your future.Earn and learn.

This needs to be at least positive, or your price is too high.