Having a trusted local team keeps things smooth, reduces stress, and ensures the property runs efficiently even when you’re not nearby.

The price of my house has significatnly reduced also.I bought house in 320k and Redfin/Zillow shows 250-270k whereas I still owe 285k. 

Although we were able to get the value reduced to $1,850,000, our property taxes were $54,000 per year.  

That usually means working with the seller on an extension and moving the file over to a more reliable lender.Now that I’m brokering, I rarely run into these issues anymore—but when it does happen, it’s usually because I took the risk of trying out a new lender.The bigger lesson here is how to vet a lender upfront to reduce the chances of this scenario.

It's hard because you have to be patient, but it really helps when you enter your first property as the reduced personal expenses helps with managing the costs of your fist investment property. 

@Scott Ryan one way to reduce risk is require a double deposit and/ or a rent guaranty policy via LEAP or some other insurance program. 

On the other hand, doing a lower-rate refi or pulling less cash keeps payments more manageable ($5,361–$6,000) while still freeing up some capital, less stress, and more breathing room.A smart middle-ground is doing a HELOC now and refi later.

Hitting either number is tough for most people.AdvantagesNear-instant liquidityEasy to start with small amountsValues are simple to trackDisadvantagesYou must consistently beat inflation and ride out crashes for your drawdown period, which even the best money managers are unable to do.Allocate time to monitor the markets and reactLimited tax advantages, little or no leverageMonthly withdrawals reduce principal and make diversification more difficult.RentalsWith rentals, my goal is to own enough properties so net rent replaces my paycheck.

That saves a ton of time vs. spreadsheets or manual tracking.For me, that’s where AI shines: reducing busywork and surfacing insights so you can focus on higher-level decisions.

Once you have a PM and leasing agent you are happy with, you might be able to reduce that, but if you are like me, you are not going to just put $450k to work somewhere and trust it is all going well.