Over the long haul, I like to look at using IRR and time value of money, which includes the whole process of buying, income/expenses and selling the asset.

Keep stockpiling cash and dropping your expenses down to 50% or less of your income so that you have a huge chunk to throw at your property when the time comes to pulling the trigger.Brian

If its a duplex, odds are in your favor that both units wont go vacant unexpectedly, however if its a single family and it goes vacant, I would tack on an extra month since you wont be getting any rental income. 

I look forward to hearing back from other BP members in the area and starting my networking foundation as I begin this new exciting adventure.GOAL: To develop supplemental income while reducing my monthly expenses.Hope you all are having a great Tuesday!

Of course, there are turkeys at every income level.Brian

If you rent it, true you might be able to get rent to offset the mortgage, but also keep in mind that some lenders will not treat your rent income as rent income until you can prove to them that you have done this for awhile.

I always have new ideas, but right now I am particularly interested in using LLCs and owner financing to purchase properties that generate monthly income.

Real Estate is more of a long term plan for retirement and passive income...There are a million books out there (I know, I've read them!)

A little about my goals: I want to pick up rentals until I can use the passive income to create a lifestyle I want.

We have aprox 150-200k to work with, and are trying to generate $2500 a month in passive income (to cover our main mortgage).