The only downside is that someone (you) would have to check them monthly and on a regular basis to calculate usage and then reconcile that against the master meter bill, then subsequently print a statement with rent + water for the tenant to settle up each month.Good luck!

The downside of that is that we lose $30k that we could be putting into a down payment on the new house.

The downside of incasing the furnace is that it will make it difficult to change the filter ... but, I would hazard to guess it is not being changed regularly now given the unit is in the attic.

The down side to owning single family houses is when you get to many, the economics point back to multifamily housing.  

I'm in a good sized midwestern city (2 million+ metro population), that's not as cyclical as the coastal cities.On the downside, I have only a relatively tiny bit of relevant experience.

It took until approximately month 4 (and even later than that) for the leads to start pouring in at a steady rate.The only real downside is - the leads are from all over the country (in markets I don't necessarily know very well).

The downside to that is giving up all the steady interest income.

The down side to this of course would be that we would need to find a good PM company, and the distance would make it difficult/ risky to manage. 

I've heard so many horror stories about exiting the note through foreclosure that maybe I am over estimating the down side, and since I don't yet have a network in place, I don't  have the ability to even ballpark foreclosure costs.

I guess the takeaway is that it largely depends on the quality/classification of the property itself, but in the right properties, it’s not a downside and can potentially be a benefit to cost and upkeep.