I know that you replied he's averse to that too, but as a possible counterargument you could point out to him that rates really are at historic lows and this probably won't last too long (see Time to Wake Up To The New Mortgage Rate Reality)You could also try to get seller financing on any new properties, which might reduce your downpayment requirements and let you expand faster/earlier.

Adding to the craziness already posted: we've seen OOS or OOC buyers dramatically overpay for City of Detroit properties because some questionable people sold them cashflow numbers and represented that the properties were Class A or Class B, when in reality they were Class C or lower. 

Parts of the market are starting to lose connection with reality, but I guess reality depends on your perspective.

The reality is, if tenant causes damage, they won't have money to pay for repair, and, if you complain to the Housing office, they usually respond one of two ways: Withhold your rent until everything is fixed and re-inspected, or, they may kick the family off of the program.

The reality of finding a place that cash flows with 0% down is slim.Based on you saying you want to keep them for 6-7 years and then sell them to buy your forever home using the equity, I wonder why not just use the money you have now to buy your forever home (ie 0% down and up to $675K, can't that be used to buy your forever home)? 

The reality is if they want you place and are committed then they should put a few $$$ at risk.

It completely ignores the reality that the money is only a small part of what's involved with a REI. 

The reality is the opposite - if it's not in writing then the PMC doesn't have to provide the service or can charge extra for it!

I think a lot of people saw unprecedented numbers these past two years, extra money in their pocket thanks to a strong economy and "free" COVID money (you'll pay for it soon enough), or they sold in a high-appreciation market for a song and opted to use some of that cash to invest in the easy world of short-term rentals where people earn $200,000 a year with a 2bed/1bath cottage.Then reality hits.

@Christian Clark the difference between your conservative estimate and the potential reality should not be the difference between a good deal and a negative cash flowing property.