You are in effect controlling an expensive asset at a monthly cost of the difference between what you pay to own (all costs including piti, maintenance/cap ex, vacancy, misc) versus rent.  

In 2026 a lot of insurance numbers are not stable.4) The fastest way to sanity check your modelDo these three quick checks:Check 1: Expense ratioIgnore capital reserves for a moment and calculate:Operating expense ratio = Operating expenses ÷ Effective gross incomeIf you are truly near 70 percent expense ratio, it is not an investable deal at a normal price.

No pets is also probably hurting you.Otherwise, lower price 5% every 3-4 weeks until activity picks up.FYI - Nov-Feb is worst time of year for real estate due to Holiday Effect.

I rarely see a situation where building is more cost effective than buying, particularly in the vacation rental space.

When you’re competing with a cash buyer, certainty and simplicity usually matter more than price — tightening inspection timelines, limiting retrade language, and clearly showing how your financing is effectively cash-like all help.If you ever decide not to chase this one, many investors shift capital into Midwest value-add deals where competition from pure cash buyers is lighter, pricing is more rational, and you can still execute long-term appreciation strategies without bidding wars.

Find an undervalued opportunity with some seller motivation or flexibility, buy it well, and then, long-term, your money is made in the effective management of the property.For the new investors we help in Michigan, we advise starting with value-add duplexes as you should always have a rent check coming in.

If you are relying on home equity, I strongly suggest not using all accessible equity for real estate investing, and in many cases using very little.Remember that in this scenario you are effectively investing debt as your equity, layered on top of traditional real estate loans.

We have a great market here in Lancaster, PA (and surrounding areas) where our economy is historically stable, has very low unemployment, employment growth and median home value growth.You just need a consultation to get you acquainted with identifying deals, stabilizing cash flow with effective and efficient operations, and keeping your portfolio growing.This could mean a combination of investment strategies, or depending on your comfort-level, and select one or two strategies.A pulse on your comfort level as well as someone who can navigate amongst value add or turnkey investments (including on or off market), is the key.Regardiess, of what market you decide on, your professional liasion, is who will be instrumental in your performance.

That spreadsheet is much simpler than the above.If you have a straight partnership, the proceeds might be a simple split.Creating a spreadsheet that could effectively handle both types of structures adds a further layer of complexity.

The clean exit demonstrated how effective same-day wholesale transactions can be when preparation and execution align.Lessons learned?