That being said, you can overcome some of the challenges of distance with technology, such as if you receive video (or photos) along with maintenance requests from your out-of-state tenants, allowing you to keep some visual on your property from a distance.If you are comfortable with distance, there is a price-to-rent ratio that may come in handy for you and end some of the analysis paralysis.

@James O Nix I was just inquiring if there was a good reason to not pay off the entire amount...maybe there were extra fines or something.

I invest $100K in it as an LP, giving me a 0.5% share of the property.The investor summary predicts the following NOI:Year 1: $1MYear 2: $1.25MYear 3: $1.5MSo given my 0.5% ownership stake, does that mean I would be receiving a K-1 showing my income from this as:Year 1: $5,000Year 2: $6,250Year 3: $7,500If we continue the example and say that I receive an 8% dividend each year, then my actual profit each year would be:Year 1: $8,000 - $5,000 = $3,000Year 2: $8,000 - $6,250 = $1,750Year 3: $8,000 - $7,500 = $500This tells me that I must be missing something incredibly fundamental in all this -- that one of my assumptions is so egregiously wrong that it invalidates literally everything else.But what?

Often times  accountants write off a lot more than you may be receiving in real life so dont be surprised when the lender uses worst case numbers.- Also when you leave your current home, or vacate your current home will you have a rental agreement(s) in place so you can use that income to offset your mortgage payment?

Anything $600 or more you need to receive a 1099 form for tax filing.Those leads are often offered very low cost per lead.

I plan on also doing a credit check / background check after I receive the application back from prospective tenants.Heres the link: http://www.nj.gov/treasury/dpmc/Assets/Files/Renta...Also - do you guys usually charge application fees?

Additionally if i purchased more property i would like to do the reverse and add to the existing loan however from the feedback i have received from my local commercial lenders it seems that i would have to refi everything or apply for a new commercial loan.

Buyers filed ch 13 in 2012 and I received payments through the bk trustee.

Thanks so much for the well received advice, you make a Great Point!

I usually just install a CO/smoke combo on all floors while making sure they sleeping area one(s) cover all and that works just fine with the inspectors.