Could put a carefully selected short-term renter in there for 6 mths to cover overhead, then do your repairs in the winter and list it next spring, targeting a signed contract at the 12-mth mark.Of course, you can try to sell it for cash to a hedge fund after you repair it.

Granted, I only had to cover reserves for two properties, so my 401k could easily do that, even with the discount.

In other words 50% of your income is left over to cover both financing and your positive cash flow.

From the deals I've run into, that amount would cover either rehab or a down payment on a property but not both...

I know this has it's limitations because I believe it only covers those properties that are listed to rent via an agent.

We live in one unit and rent the other as a vacation rental and almost make enough to cover PITI.

Another property covers your entertainment expenses.

Insurance almost denied the claim stating it was not covered as a rental.

Do your homework and make sure that your rental income is enough to cover your loan or operating costs plus you want some cash flow each month.

Especially if you're trying to get into another property, if you kept the house and got into another investment you may run into a snag that you have to cover costs for too.