I live in Northern California and am looking to step into real estate investing by purchasing my first rental property.

Hello everyone,I recently closed on property #1 a couple months ago - a duplex in a small city that I'm house hacking, and I want some thoughts/critiques on my plan for next steps. 

Unauthorized pets are one of the most frequent early lease violations landlords see.You handled the first step correctly — you addressed it directly, requested documentation, and gave them a path to come into compliance instead of immediately escalating.

There is also another big exception that I don't think was mentioned in this thread (but it was in Michael's linked thread), you don't have to report payments that were made by credit card or certain other payment methods. 

It sounds like you’ve already got a solid start with two cash-flowing rentals, so the next step is really about strategy and leveraging what you have.

A custom GPT is with you step by step and unlike a human side-kick it does not forget anything and does not get influenced by feelings.

Holding some cash after the refi gives breathing room for:Unexpected repairsHigher operating costsConservative underwriting on the next dealBRRRR still works, but the mindset is shifting from speed to control.In today’s environment, the repeat step isn’t about how fast you move — it’s about how clean your numbers are before you move again.Curious — are you repeating as fast as possible, or deliberately slowing down between BRRRRs right now?

Asking the selling agent is the easiest first step which was done.Next, check with the city for permits as mentioned above.

I wanted to step through the deal with someone from the forum to ensure that this is a fiscally sound opportunity.

The challenging part with New York is that most buildings in the areas I want to live in are older so while I would be house hacking, I worry there will be more maintenance issues along with the higher fees / taxes / etc that make me hesitant to do this method.