Many times if it is not separately metered you can use RUBs Ratio utility billing or have an excessive use provision in the lease.

Have you had problems keeping tenants, excessive turn over.

The excess is expected to be put into the rehab/improvement.

Avoid large national banks as they have excessive demands and review processes.

Let's try to twist your mind a bit ... you have to pay tax on cash flow ... if instead of collecting cash flow as it trickles in, paying taxes on it, and then DRIPing it into index funds, etc. if you don't need the cash flow and do need the tax write off, what if you were to pull excess equity out via cash out refinance ... use that larger lump some to redeploy into another investment property or any other investment you choose.

The PA law reads, ""Escrow Funds Limited:(a) No landlord may require a sum in excess of two months' rent to be deposited in escrow for the payment of damages to the leasehold premises and/or default in rent thereof during the first year of any lease.

They live there for the full year however, they have multiple other families/persons living there that you were never aware of that would in no way ever pass your screening test and put a horrible amount of excessive wear and tear on your property and you are none the wiser and because you are sitting on a fat pile of cash, you are happy, while your house is falling apart under your nose.

I understand from other discussions here on BP, that the IRS may have very stringent requirements for REI's claiming Professional Status to enable RE losses in excess of $25,000 per year against non passive income.One suggestion, in addition to detailed records of the over 750 hours of RE activity, is the "Election" of combining of all your RE properties into a single entity.I have not found a way to do this in Turbo Tax (no chuckles please).Does anyone have experience with this and discuss the pros and cons of such an "election."

Apparently the person claiming to be a real estate agent wasn't.The other one not yet mentioned is the check used for payment that is drafted for an amount in excess of the payment due, with the payer requesting to be given the difference in cash.

Take on a cash Partner that buys in with $145k (50% of ARV = $290k) and give them 50% of the deal (or whatever you can negotiate).Pay off the 2nd mortgage.Do the rehab....and use the excess cash from the buyin as needed to cover monthly costs while rehab is being doneRefi to get your monthly payment down with a lower interest rate.Turn your house into an AirBnB.