But still left confused which way to go.I ran a simulated property both ways and it seemed like a wash....not sure I caught all the details though.

Run a simulation of a 30 year mortgage amortization schedule: the first several years are almost ALL interest, taxes, insurance, etc... with very little principal pay-down.

Get rid of the carpet entirely and put down simulated wood sheet vinyl.

@Rahul Handa the 4% rule of thumb is based on the Monte Carlo simulation and I think most “experts” are reducing the number down to 3%.

@Justin Scott just use a stochastic partial differential equation and then validate it with a Monte Carlo simulation to make sure you modeled it correctly

@Kevin Dougherty Yep, gonna have to run two different simulations but probably will go with the lender that requires less reserves and just bite the bullet with 25% down. 

I thoroughly enjoy running numbers and simulations and also love the investigative side of real estate investing i.e. looking at community plans, new developments etc. and also studying the new tax laws and how they impact real estate investments.

I pay to use the full motioin simulator.. could I just go out and practice on my own I guess so or read flying articles probably.. nothing beats a little hand holding.And it depends on your learning style..

In the process of building a REI simulation/game.

Brandon TurnerYou pretty much hit the "society is bigger than me" points I was using to sell myself on becoming a "Pro" of some degree.Some of the calculators would be applicable - but I have already developed my own {monte carlo} simulation system for modelling properties under a variety of what-if scenarios.