Is it not equity building, because if I purchase the house in future, I will be paying a lower price since owner will deduct the amount I paid to him.

There are a few invaluable things I learned along the way:1)- Always offer lower than asking price.

If you need a 65 to 70 LTV that will also hurt your pockets. 5+ units in the bay It's is NOT for the timid or people with modest incomes unless you have access to a LOT of cheap credit. 

@Tom Kairys, one thing newbies miss is that it is much harder to get financing in the name of your entity vs. your personal name.You can get an umbrella liability policy and buy in your personal name, or buy in your personal name and then transfer to your LLC (risk the due on sale clause).All of these options have been extensively discussed on the forums and accessible via a few searches.

When evaluating cap rates I'm taking out taxes, insurance, 8% vacancy, 10% repairs, 8% cap ex, and 10% property management fees; however, if I lower all of those percentages then my cap rate is higher - is everyone using lower percentages and that's how they're finding cap rates of 10%, or am I truly looking at a lot of overpriced MLS properties?

My question is.. are appraisals lower in the winter due to the obvious drop in demand because it is the winter?  

Hi all,What do you think about this:If you had a $300k mortgage that you had to port or else you would pay a hefty fee of $17,000, would you be better off paying the fee and getting new mortgages at lower interest in smaller deals on your own, or would it be better to JV with someone who will not put money in on a five year deal but take care of the management role and split revenue?

You may not get landlording experience but you'll get maintenance, financing, and paperwork experience.I think the discussion points in your head and with them are around what kind of improvements they would need or desire (if you have to make it elderly accessible that could be a selling point for the next tenants, but what if they want something that will cause you more upkeep in the future?)

I brought in a credit partner with great credit to help get lower interest rates on loans, etc.

I have not walked the property yet but there is a 4 unit building that has in unit laundry accessibility.