It's an expensive market (for the most part) but the rents are high, so it is possible to find something where your cut of the mortgage would be minimal.Adding to the areas you might like: Uptown, Jack London Square, Cleveland Heights (AKA Eastlake), and parts of West Oakland.  

So my natural bent would be to go as cheap as possible to simply satisfy the loan requirements.

Looked at a house today for a possible flip.

Also, a possible electrical upgrade in order to get financing.

Marg is on Social Security and is living with care.Kat pays Marg in Cash, in order not to jepordize the elderly womans (Marg's) SS.The FHA will not accept this, as they want to see proof of rent paid, but the sellers do not want the rent coming in as it could jeopardize their mothers (M) SocialS.The elderly woman owns the house outright and is quite flexible when it comes to payments and allowing my friend to possibly stay another 6 months in order to satisfy the FHA, but is at that point where she would like to get her estate in order for her will and would not be able to carry financing for a long period.

Plus with the new sales price I should be able to bring the assessment down as well, leading to some additional savings on taxes there.I have two possibilities for this property, the first being to get it refinanced by a bank ASAP to pay off the seller financing and bring the debt service down by about half.  

I know hard lending is an option, I am trying to have least down as possible.

Possibly intro you to the right people.

I am looking to learn as much as possible to do my first deal.  

I’ve got the age old question of whether we should sell our townhome or keep it and make it our first rental.This is my first post on BiggerPockets so please let me know if I have left out any information that may be helpful in the analysis.Single Family TownhomeBuilt: 2001Purchase Date: 2008Purchase Price: $270,000Property Tax: $5700/yearHOA: $125/monthWater/Sewer: $1320/year (Must be paid to county by home owner)Insurance: $800/yearMaintenance Costs: $400/year Other planned future costs: Roof (in about 5 years, ~$5000), water heater (in 7 years, ~$1300 including labor), water softener (in 5 years, $500)Current Mortgage (Refinanced in 2012)Term: 15Rate: 3.375%Principal: $140,000Market Value: $230,000 (Upstate NY market with minimal appreciation expected)Rental: $2000/month ($2200 possible but I want to be conservative)I was also considering refinancing to a 30 year mortgage to help with cash flow but I’m not sure if it is worth the $4000-5000 in closing costs to refinance.Normally I would not consider this a good rental property because of the low/negative cash flow.