You already own it, so at the end of the day you either bring in more than you spend, or you don't. 

If you stop withholding, you’ll feel like you have more money each month, but when those surprise costs hit, it’s easy to tap into funds that were supposed to be saved for taxes.Then come tax time, you may not have enough to pay what you owe.

Even if you tell them you'll do anything they need you're putting the burden on them to figure out what to do with you and creating another barrier to entry for you.You could proactively drive for dollars and bring a list of pre vetted deals to the meetup, you can offer to maintain a properties yard and flower beds, you can power wash properties, you can offer to help prep properties between tenants, or any other number of things you think you could excel at. 

You bring up a very real and timely point: the rent-vs-buy conversation isn’t as clear-cut as it once was, especially in today’s market with elevated prices and shifting demand.

Change orders almost always come up, so it's smart to pad your numbers.Structural: Foundation evaluations are usually free, so it’s worth getting that early.General: When you do your inspection, ask the inspector to flag all non-cosmetic issues—you can turn that into a working list.Interior: If you bring a clear list of what you want done, most contractors will build you a rough scope for around $300.Projects like this can definitely work, but tight budgets just need tight planning.

I’ve seen umbrella coverage for single properties usually land somewhere between $300–$600 annually, depending on the liability amount, location, and provider.Aegis + FAIR Plan at $995 feels more in line with market rates, especially if you're in a coastal or high-risk area where the FAIR Plan is required.

There's also value in being the host of the mastermind too as you're bringing community together. 

Unfortunately, 95%+ of agents won't put in the time to learn how to properly work with investors:(They all want to bring their emotionally-based approach that works with owner-occupant transactions, and try to apply it to investors - instead of learning the numbers-based approach for rentals and fix & flips that investors need.Of course, agents also need to protect their time when dealing with the 90%+ of newbie investor that will never buy anything, but will waste a ton of an agent's time!

Feel free to DM if you are interested in chatting further.

There’s no need to make yourself feel superior by fooling yourself into believing that you’re somehow “better” than the “normal” business person.