The common paths I see are a local bank business loan or line of credit based on your income and property equity, a commercial value add loan if the building and the new space pencils with a stabilized pro forma, or a cash out refi or HELOC on other properties if you have them.

DU will generally only give partial credit for rent, commonly around 75% of gross rent, and then it nets that against PITIA, so the payment still shows up in your ratios.

:) .Are there any strategies new investors commonly use to balance personal home upgrades with starting a rental portfolio?

That allows you to learn from the pros on pricing, marketing, screening, and compliance while you get your footing, then decide later whether full self management makes sense.Happy to share our screening criteria or talk through the most common issues we see new owners run into. 

What was common in  those days was for an investor to put up the down payment and the first time homebuyer got the loan and the investor and homeowner did a JV on the property.. the down payment was the major stumbling block for most of these buyers so the banks did allow an investor to put up the 20% down needed.

But to Chris's point, one of the common tactics right now is to sell a property for more than it's worth by using seller financing.

There isn't any info about the margin of error with the survey or any real info about the data collection. 

There are three common approaches, but the best strategy blends them:What typically works best:- Small predictable annual increases (2–5%) Tenants expect it, it prevents large jumps, and it keeps rent closer to market over time.- Market realignment at turnovers When a tenant moves out, reset to true market value.- Context matters - If tenant is excellent then prioritize retention with reasonable increases

ADU's are not as common in Indianapolis, We work with several contractors that have some experience with this and would love to connect with you to discuss this.

Those stories don't get featured on podcasts or posted here, but that is the most common outcome in the out of state, low purchase price/BRRRR investor story.