Where are these numbers from and how do I get there?
Member since 2026 · 28 posts · 13 votes
Where are these numbers from and how do I get there?
Most Popular Reply
Realtor · Memphis, Shelby County · Member since 2026 · 348 posts · 123 votes
1wGreat question — almost every new investor asks this. Those episode numbers were real, but they were likely from a market where the price-to-rent math actually works, or from a deal bought below market (off-market, distressed, or negotiated). The episode doesn't show the months of hunting behind it.
A few practical takeaways: first, a house hack doesn't have to cash flow on day one to be a good move — if it meaningfully lowers your housing cost versus renting, that's a win. Second, still run the numbers as if you moved out: will it at least break even as a rental? If not, keep looking. Third, your market matters enormously. In expensive markets the math rarely works on listed properties, so investors either house hack for the reduced housing cost or buy where the numbers pencil.
You're asking exactly the right questions — keep going.
33 Replies
- 1wNicholas L.Pro MemberFlipper/Rehabber · Pittsburgh · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
no LTR cash flows right now - none.
I'm not going to click a random link but happy to help if you have specific questions. it sounds like you're saying after you move out of a house hack it will break even or be negative. yep, that's market right now. especially if under professional management.
how many properties have you looked at and how many offers have you made?
- Member since 2026 · 28 posts · 13 votes1w
Very helpful to hear. The bigger pockets team doesn’t seem to think so, though. They didn’t even address professional management despite talking about a growing portfolio.
Personally I’ve looked at countless homes, probably everything in my price range and market. I haven’t submitted any offers yet.
- 1wNicholas L.Pro MemberFlipper/Rehabber · Pittsburgh · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
OK. I think I said this in the other thread, but there's no reason to go off market for your first property / house hack. Off market is higher risk.
And you're saying 'countless' but how many have you seen in person? 5, 20, 100?
- Member since 2026 · 28 posts · 13 votes1w
@Nicholas L. You did say that. Me and my wife are narrowing in on duplexes that will decrease our rent just to get out of an apartment for the time being. My new discussion was less directed to the stage I’m at now and more towards the one that comes next. Going through the process of getting one of these “break-even” duplexes, I’ve become aware that buying at the current price/market I’m at now is not a wealth strategy unless I just want a bunch of tied up equity. So I’m wondering what comes next.
The episode I referenced seemed to contradict my conclusion I came to from looking at properties in my area that repeatedly buying duplexes doesn’t work as a wealth strategy, which is why I made my new post.
To answer, we have looked at 10 properties in-person.
I appreciate your willingness to engage with me. So yes, for clarity, I’m looking at what comes next.
- 1wJames JonesPro MemberInvestor · Collierville, TN 38017 · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 710 votes
Those numbers are real, but they are not from listed properties in an expensive market. They come from cheaper markets and off-market deal flow.
Run your market's math honestly. If a duplex is $400K and rent does not clear the 1% rule, it does not cash flow, and no strategy fixes that. House hacking a break-even property can cut your living cost while you live there, but do not call it cash flow.
Where I buy, in Memphis, the math is different: single-family under $100K, ARV $180K to $265K after rehab, and 3BR Section 8 rent of $1,395 to $1,950, so rent clears 1% on the all-in. Those deals do not come off the MLS. They come from wholesalers and direct deal flow. At 236 properties, deal flow is still my bottleneck. Pick a market where the 1% test can pass, then work on deal flow.
- Member since 2026 · 28 posts · 13 votes1w
@James Jones if I bought off-market, do you think it could potentially pass the 1% rule?
- Realtor · Memphis, Shelby County · Member since 2026 · 348 posts · 123 votes1w
Great question — almost every new investor asks this. Those episode numbers were real, but they were likely from a market where the price-to-rent math actually works, or from a deal bought below market (off-market, distressed, or negotiated). The episode doesn't show the months of hunting behind it.
A few practical takeaways: first, a house hack doesn't have to cash flow on day one to be a good move — if it meaningfully lowers your housing cost versus renting, that's a win. Second, still run the numbers as if you moved out: will it at least break even as a rental? If not, keep looking. Third, your market matters enormously. In expensive markets the math rarely works on listed properties, so investors either house hack for the reduced housing cost or buy where the numbers pencil.
You're asking exactly the right questions — keep going.
- Member since 2026 · 28 posts · 13 votes1w
@Ametria Chaney Right now I’m just trying to get out of paying rent. Sounds like I either need to buy out of state or access the off-market. How do I go about accessing that?
>I’m just trying to get out of paying rent
If you purchase at high OO LTV house hack, you will get out of paying rent but will be initially paying more to live there than you would pay to be renting.
Also these cheap markets do not cash flow even at 80% LTV and a 1% rent ratio for a small unit count owner.
>Sounds like I either need to buy out of state or access the off-market?
Both these strategies have additional effort and/or risk. I would not suggest either for a newbie investor.
Houses that are off market are not similar to the typical MLS listed property. They virtually always have risk and/or require extra effort. We (my son with me as the bank and mentor) purchased one off market a month ago. It had $20k earnest money, no contingencies. If we found anything wrong with the property we would have been out the earnest money. If for some reason I could not finance it, we would have been out $20k. Many off market properties cannot be conventionally financed. A first time HML borrow with no flip/rehab experience is likely looking at 1 to 1.5 points and 11% to 13% rate at high LTV.
As for the property, all contents were left in the property. It needed a full rehab (new kitchen, both bathrooms new, flooring, paint both interior and exterior, removal of unpermitted room, some hardscape).
Are you prepared for this type of effort/risk? I do not recommend newbies going this approach (off market purchase). Buy a property off the mls using an agent to protect your interests.
For out of state the challenges are building/maintaining a trusted, rock star team. Recognize the local RE investors have numerous advantages. You are likely purchasing what the locals are adding on.
The reality is it is a challenging RE market. Buying rent ready from mls, at high LTV market financing, traditional whole unit LTR requires patience to achieve a return that justifies the effort and risk of residential RE.
Good luck
- Member since 2017 · 86 posts · 42 votes1w
Hayden, break-even can work, but only if you're honest about what it is: you're buying the loan paydown and whatever appreciation Logan gives you, and you have no cushion. One furnace or one bad tenant and break-even turns into money out of your pocket. If you go that way, have reserves set aside before closing, not after.
Before you settle for it, run one more version: a regular single-family house with four or five bedrooms, rented by the room instead of as a whole. Logan is a college town, so that's worth pricing. I rent my houses by the bedroom, and it's worth seeing whether a house that only breaks even rented whole comes out ahead once each room is priced on its own.
To check it, look up what single rooms rent for near the houses you're looking at (room listings, not whole-house rents), add them up, then subtract what you'd be paying that a whole-house tenant usually covers: utilities and wifi, a cleaner for the shared kitchen and bathrooms, furniture for the common areas, and more move-outs per year.
One thing to check first: a lot of college towns limit how many unrelated people can live in one house, sometimes by zone. Call Logan's planning office before you make an offer on anything with that plan.
If the room math doesn't beat your break-even duplex either, then the honest answer is to keep saving and keep looking. The deals on the show are real, but they're not every market.
- 1wRyan BrownPro MemberReal Estate Agent · Louisville, KY · Member since 2022 · 114 posts · 39 votes
Hayden, those numbers do exist. They just depend heavily on the market.
I'm an agent and investor in Louisville, KY. I ran a search this morning for 3–4 unit properties listed under $400k in Louisville and found 25 active listings. The median asking price was about $200k for triplexes and about $280k for fourplexes.
A few with rent figures in the listing:
A fourplex on Valley Forge Way is listed at $290k with a stated rent roll of $2,927 a month. A triplex on Bank St is listed at $369,999 and says it brings in $3,850 a month. A fourplex on Brookline Ave is listed at $350k, with three units rented at $771, $675 and $675. The fourth unit is furnished and has rented for $1,150 as a mid-term rental.
Those rents come from the sellers and the prices are what they're asking, so I'd verify everything and look closely at condition before trusting the numbers. Several of the cheaper ones are vacant or need a lot of work. Still, rent close to 1% of the purchase price on a listed 3–4 unit property is realistic here. You don't have to go off-market to find it.
The tradeoff is that a house hack only works where you live. If your main goal is to stop paying rent in Logan, an out-of-state property won't do that. It's really a separate decision: house hack locally and accept that it breaks even, or keep renting and buy where the cash flow works.
- Member since 2026 · 28 posts · 13 votes1w
@Ryan Brown This is good to know. I’m heavily considering out-of-state investing as my wealth strategy while I use house hacking as simply a way to save money. That said I find out-of-state to be very daunting. I’m unsure how to go about it.
- 1wRyan BrownPro MemberReal Estate Agent · Louisville, KY · Member since 2022 · 114 posts · 39 votes
@Hayden Billings , that's a smart way to split it up. Use the house hack to save money where you live, and buy where the numbers work for the long-term rentals.
It feels daunting because you're trying to figure out the whole market on your own. Really, you're building a small local team. Most investors start with an agent who owns rentals in that market, a local lender, and a property manager. Between the three, you'll get a realistic picture of prices, rents, financing and operating costs.
From there, I'd pick a few actual listings and work through them with that team. Ask the agent what the property and neighborhood are really like and what it would rent for. Ask the lender what financing would look like. Ask the property manager what they'd charge to manage it and what they'd flag before taking it on. After a handful of those, the market won't feel so unfamiliar. Visit at least once before you buy if you can.
I've worked with out-of-state investors here in Louisville and have relationships with local lenders that work with them. If Louisville makes your list, I'd be happy to walk through some actual properties and numbers with you. Feel free to message me.
- Member since 2026 · 28 posts · 13 votes1w
@Ryan Brown I will check out some markets and let you know. My in-laws live in Omaha, and from what I see the market out there is MUCH better. I’m considering partnering with my father in law out there. In any case, be it Omaha or Louisville, I’m at least a year out from that stage. If I can figure out how to “connect” with you on this app, I’d LOVE to have some contact with you when I get to that point.
- 1wDivin KanyamaBusiness MemberAccountant · Seattle, WA · Member since 2025 · 700 posts · 292 votes
@Hayden Billings You’re not missing anything! Podcast deals are usually the best-case example, and plenty of us are seeing the same prices you are.
Break-even can still work if you’re house hacking. Living in one unit for free is real savings, plus you’re paying down the loan and building equity. Just make sure “break even” already includes repairs, vacancy, and capex, and keep decent reserves.
To improve the numbers, I’d look at listings that have sat a while, or places with rent upside like below-market leases or a finishable basement.
Don’t force a deal just to match the podcast. Waiting is okay!
- Member since 2026 · 28 posts · 13 votes1w
@Divin Kanyama thank you. I need this reminder constantly. Currently I feel like I’m flushing money down the toilet the longer I wait since we are still renting.
- 1wRay WilliamsBusiness MemberLender · Denver, CO · Member since 2017 · 181 posts · 83 votes
Hayden, one thing nobody has brought up yet is how the loan itself changes the math on a triplex, and it explains part of the gap between that episode and what you're seeing.
If you buy a 3 or 4 unit with FHA and live in one unit, the property has to pass what's called the self-sufficiency test. The lender takes 75% of the appraiser's market rent for all the units, including the one you live in, and that has to cover the full payment: principal, interest, taxes, insurance and the monthly mortgage insurance. On a $475K triplex with 3.5% down, that payment can easily land somewhere around $3,400 a month depending on your rate and taxes, which means the building needs roughly $4,500 in total market rent to pass. Plenty of triplexes in pricier markets don't, and the deal dies at the appraisal. Duplexes don't have that test, which is one reason they're easier to get done.
Worth knowing: conventional loans now allow 5% down on an owner-occupied 2 to 4 unit, with no self-sufficiency test. Run both before you write off the triplex idea.
On break-even: As a mortgage broker and investor I see this a lot. Break-even while you live there is still a win compared to paying rent. Break-even after you move out is thin, so run those numbers with real vacancy and repair reserves, not just rent minus mortgage. Don't forget tax advantages, future rent projections, principal reduction by tenants etc. Real wealth is made in RE not typically overnight or cash flow. Usually appreciation has more impact, think long-game.
- Member since 2026 · 28 posts · 13 votes1w
@Ray Williams thank you for that reminder. I’m a young buck and I WANT IT NOW 😂 Good to hear someone with experience tell me to slow the roll now and then.
- 1wRay WilliamsBusiness MemberLender · Denver, CO · Member since 2017 · 181 posts · 83 votes
I get it. Take calculated risks. But take action. The reason so many want to buy is because buying is when the rubber meets the road. If it were easy everyone would own rentals and have millions in equity. It can happen, just take the long view. If I would have told myself 25Y ago I would be where I am now I would have called myself out, but here I am.
- Realtor · Columbus, Franklin County · Member since 2026 · 144 posts · 55 votes1w
One angle I don't see yet, Hayden: you've looked at 'countless' homes but made no offers, and in most markets right now the price you see is the opening ask. Sellers who have sat for weeks will often give credits toward closing costs or a rate buydown, and that can move a break-even duplex more than a lower price does. So, concretely: 1) Pick the two or three best candidates and make real offers with a credit request, so you learn what sellers will actually take. A rejected offer costs you nothing. 2) Run each as a house hack with your current rent as the baseline: if the payment on your unit plus the other unit's rent covers your rent plus a repair reserve, that is already a win. 3) For the next stage, don't buy a different market until you can underwrite it the same way you did here, with leased-comp rents, quoted insurance, and a property manager's fee. You're asking the right question, and doing the math before buying puts you ahead of most.
- Lender · Boynton Beach, FL · Member since 2026 · 240 posts · 107 votes1w
Hey Hayden — good question, Logan market is tough right now.
That $400k triplex example was probably 2021-2022 pricing or Midwest market, not Logan 2026. In UT $475k for a run-down duplex is the new normal - you're not missing deals, that's just Logan.
On your question - does house hacking work if it just breaks even?
Yes, that's actually the goal for Year 1 in high-price markets. If you live in one unit and your tenants cover PITI + you live almost free vs $1500+ rent, you're winning even at break-even. Cash flow comes after you move out and rents bump + you refi.
2 ways guys are getting closer to that $400k triplex in Logan right now:
1. Off-market + seller credits for rehab - your $400k duplex that needs $30k work, you negotiate $15k credit
2. Small multi that's been listed 60+ days - DMs + price cut, then low down FHA house hack
I'm a DSCR lender in FL but I see this in UT a lot — the break-even house hack is still better than renting if you plan to hold 3-5 years and reuse FHA. Don't force a bad deal to hit $400k, just run your live-for-free math vs your current rent.
What are you paying in rent now vs that duplex PITI minus other unit rent? That gap is your real savings.
- 1wJimmy LieuBusiness MemberReal Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2019 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
Hayden, questioning those numbers is the right instinct. A $400K triplex that works is mostly a market story, and those episodes are often recorded in places or years where price to rent still lined up. In a price range like yours, a house hack is really about cutting your own housing cost, not cash flow after you move out, which matches what Nicholas said.
If you want to see what the math looks like somewhere cheaper, Columbus, Ohio is worth a look. A lot of the deals I see there hit the 1% rule and still cash flow after every expense, and most come with $20K-$30K of built-in equity at purchase. Single families mostly run $120K-$180K and multifamily starts around $200K, so the break-even problem gets a lot easier. Landlord-friendly laws help a lot if you're managing from a distance.
Wherever you land, keep running every deal as if you'd already moved out, like you're doing. Happy to connect, and I can point you to investor-friendly lenders and property managers here when you get that far.
Jimmy Lieu, Red 1 Realty4.9124 Reviews- Member since 2026 · 28 posts · 13 votes1w
This is EXTREMELY helpful and encouraging. God bless you. I had nowhere to start for OOS investing. Now Columbus is my first lead.
- 1wDerek BrickleyBusiness MemberLender · Ann Arbor, MI · Member since 2021 · 699 posts · 237 votes
Hey Hayden!
Ray and BJ covered the financing and negotiating side really well. One thing I'd add since you mentioned out of state investing as the long term plan: the order you do it in matters. Your house hack is the one purchase where you can get in with 0 to 5% down on owner occupied financing, while an out of state rental will usually take 15 to 25% down. When you're leveraging a property that much it's unlikely to break even, but part of what you're paying goes toward your principal, plus taxes and insurance you'd be paying some of anyways. So even if it's a bit more than rent, it can still be a positive in the long run, and it keeps more of your cash free for that first out of state property. Both of my househacks I did the 5% conventional route. Feel free to reach out if you'd like!
Gold Star Mortgage Financial Group547 Reviews - 6dJimmy LieuBusiness MemberReal Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2019 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
Hayden, your instinct is right. A $400K duplex that only breaks even after you move out is a common story in expensive markets, and an "every property breaks even" plan leaves no cushion for vacancy or repairs. Episode numbers usually come from a cheaper market or a deal bought below value, so I'd run your own numbers with real rent comps, vacancy, repairs and capex before trusting any headline figure.
If Logan is stretching the budget, widening the search is worth a look. Owner-occupied financing means you'd have to live in the property, so that only fits if you're open to relocating; as a pure rental, though, buying outside your town works fine. Columbus is one market I see house hackers and remote buyers consider: multifamily starts around $200K, a lot of deals hit the 1% rule and still cash flow after every expense, and most come with $20K-$30K of built-in equity at purchase. Landlord-friendly rules and evictions that wrap in about 30 days when uncontested help too.
Happy to connect and compare notes, and to point you toward investor-friendly lenders and property managers here if you go that way.
Jimmy Lieu, Red 1 Realty4.9124 Reviews - 6dDenise SuppleeBusiness MemberRealtor · Willow Grove, PA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 663 votes
Markets are different, and what worked in one market or a few years ago may not work today. If you're finding them closer to $475K, I'd run the numbers on those properties and see what actually makes sense rather than trying to make them fit the numbers from the podcast.I also wouldn't buy a property that only breaks even just because it's a triplex. A house hack can still make sense if you're reducing your own housing cost while building equity, but you still need to be comfortable with the payment, repairs, vacancies and reserves.
Sometimes there isn't a trick you're missing. The numbers just don't work in that market right now, and it's okay to wait for the right property.
Spark Rental Co-Investing Club583 Reviews - Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes6d
First off take anything you hear in a podcast or from a guru with a grain of salt. In real life what I have seen work for my clients lately regarding house hacks is buying a 3 or 4 unit (forget about 2 units, they make no sense) and do a cosmetic rehab for example new cabinets, new stone, refinish floors, paint and add in unit laundry. After that bring the MLS rents up 40% to 100%. In our MLS atleast, rents are significantly below market because they have increased faster than the vast majority of mom-and-pop landlords have raised them. This may differ in different areas, but knowing your market's maximum rents gives you a big advantage so research your market! You cannot just buy something and keep the current rents and expect to cash flow unless you're in a horrible area as those days are 7 plus years gone.
- 6dRyan BakerBusiness MemberLender · Strongsville / Cleveland, OH · Member since 2026 · 152 posts · 38 votes
Hey Hayden, that's a common wall on a first house hack, and the financing side often changes which deals pencil. Owner-occupied loans let you put much less down than an investment property loan, and how the lender counts the rent from the other units can change your qualifying numbers, so it's worth running a couple of price points with real loan scenarios instead of guessing. I do lending and would be glad to walk through it on a quick call. My direct line and email are on my profile. (Drafted with AI assistance.)
- Real Estate Agent · Detroit, MI · Member since 2016 · 148 posts · 65 votes5d
Hayden, the numbers on the show are real — they're just not numbers from listed properties in a market like Logan at today's prices. Almost every 'easy cash flow' story has the same hidden first step: the property was bought at a discount — distressed, off-market, inherited, tired landlord — not at asking price off the MLS.
I analyze deals in Detroit every week and the math is unforgiving: at full retail price with today's rates, almost nothing cash flows, here or anywhere. The cash flow gets created at the purchase, not found afterward. The triplex on the show was probably bought for meaningfully less than the headline figure suggests, or bought when prices and rates were different.
On the break-even question: a house hack that breaks even on paper while you live there is usually still a win against renting — your housing cost is near zero and the loan is getting paid down. Just don't call break-even 'cash flow' in your long-term math, and don't buy it if it only works while you live there and turns negative the day you move out. Run the numbers as a pure rental from day one. If it survives that test, the house hack part is gravy.
- 5dDrew SygitBusiness MemberProperty Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 13k+ posts · 9k+ votes
Why do you think you have to pay asking price in a buyer's market?
Logical Property Management4.9462 Reviews - 4dArman AhmedPro MemberReal Estate Agent · Columbus Cleveland Dayton, OH · Member since 2024 · 2k+ posts · 972 votes
Quote from @Hayden Billings:
https://youtu.be/_lKIUTT_e2Q?is=crruMa_HYEsqB-IQ
So I just watched this episode from bigger pockets. They talked about buying a triplex for $400,000. They spoke of it as though it were really easy to do, but I have been looking for months and the absolute LOWEST I’ve found was closer to $475K. Run-down duplexes run around $400K, but I do not see a way to cashflow a duplex at that price, even after I move out. The closest I’ve come is to break even. Does this strategy work if all my properties just break even? Or is there some way to get these triplex deals that I’m just missing?
Hey Hayden, I wouldn’t get too caught up chasing the numbers from an older podcast. Markets and prices change, and sometimes breaking even just means you’re paying too much for the deal. It may be worth looking beyond your immediate area, too. The Midwest still has multifamily opportunities with better cash flow potential, and investing out of state is manageable with the right local team. I’d focus on finding a property that cash flows from day one rather than relying only on appreciation.
- Member since 2026 · 78 posts · 30 votes3d
You're not missing a trick — you're missing the unit of measurement. Everyone upthread is right that the episode's numbers are real but from somewhere the price-to-rent math lines up. The part nobody's said is that "somewhere" isn't a city. It's a tract.
I ran the last decade at the tract level — 80,384 US census tracts matched between the 2014 and 2024 ACS. Median appreciation +74.9%, but the 10th-percentile tract gained +30.4% and the 90th gained +156.2%, and 1.6% of tracts lost value. Across the 744 counties with 20+ matched tracts, the median gap between a county's 10th- and 90th-percentile tract is 67 percentage points of decade appreciation. Same county, same rates — and the two ends of that county's market are 67 points apart.
So the $400K triplex isn't a Logan problem or a 2021 problem. It's a tract problem: in the tracts you've been looking at, $475K against Logan rents doesn't pencil, and no amount of hunting in those same tracts fixes the ratio. The episode's deal penciled because it sat in a tract where price and rent lined up — and tracts like that exist inside expensive metros too, just not on every block. That's also why "buy in Columbus" is only half an answer: Columbus has tracts where the 1% test passes and tracts where it doesn't, and the city average won't tell you which one a listing sits in.
For your two decisions, I'd split the screen in half. The Logan house hack is a housing-cost decision, not a cash-flow decision: if the payment on your unit plus the other unit's rent beats what you're paying in rent now, with a real repair reserve set aside before closing, that's a win — but don't call it a wealth strategy. A portfolio of break-even properties after you move out is just loan paydown plus whatever appreciation those tracts give you, with no cushion when a furnace goes or a tenant leaves. For the out-of-state stage, run this before you talk to anyone on the ground: data.census.gov, tables B25077 (median home value) and B25064 (median gross rent) per tract, 2014 vs 2024. Value change over the decade, rent × 12 ÷ value, and sanity-check anything that looks great against B19013 (median income) and B01003 (population). The thing to screen for is the combination — a rent-to-price that passes your test in a tract whose values have actually been growing. A high ratio in a tract that's been flat or declining for a decade is a different bet than the same ratio where values have been growing: the rent growth and the exit value both come from the tract, not the ratio.
Two honest limits on my side. First, this screen is single-family-skewed — ACS tract medians are small-sample and lean that way — so for 2–4 units it's a neighborhood signal, not a deal screen; underwrite the building's actual rents, and gross rent-to-price says nothing about the net after taxes, insurance, capex, management, vacancy, and debt service. Second, no forecast here — everything above is realized 2014→2024 change, and I'd be suspicious of confidence in either direction. The 2020 census also redrew some tract boundaries, so a minority of these matches compare slightly different footprints.
I'll defer to the Logan, Columbus, and Omaha folks upthread on the local mechanics — that's ground truth I don't have. I work with housing-market data, so grain of salt accordingly.
- 2dNoah WrightBusiness MemberUSA, Nationwide · Member since 2024 · 401 posts · 136 votes
Running your own numbers instead of taking the episode's word for it is the right instinct. Whether break even works depends on what's inside that number. If it already counts vacancy, repairs and capex, you're still building equity through paydown and you're covered when the furnace dies. If it's just rent against the mortgage, the first big repair puts you in the red. The bigger limit is that a break even property throws off nothing toward the next down payment, so the plan stalls after one unless savings or equity fund the next. Most DSCR lenders size a later refinance off rent against principal, interest, taxes, insurance and HOA, not your full expense list, so a true break even can still read fine to them. Does your number include vacancy and capex?
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.