. 😊🙏🏼 I am concerned for your financial health:- I believe RE is more challenging than in recent times.- I believe the highest cash flow markets have the highest risk.- I fear a rushed purchase has additional risk.- make sure you have a good 1031 intermediary.- I believe the local market is challenging, especially with your goal of immediate cash flow, and not local (out of state) is higher risk and effort.Where is your current property that you are selling located?  

If you need some resources on that market I can send you some great ones.Your budget is healthy for single family homes in Detroit in solid areas.

Before jumping right into saving for that next investment, I'd strongly consider building a separate and very healthy "uh-oh" fund just for this duplex.

East Tennessee home sales in August saw a healthy 2.1% increase over July, and a 7.4% increase over August 2024.The median sale price was $376,200 — up 3% from the previous year.Total housing inventory has increased 31.4% from the previous year.Half of the homes sold were under contract in 28 days or less, up from 20 days a year ago.39% of homes sold for the asking price or above, with 18.3% selling for more than the asking price. 7.9% sold for at least $10,000 over asking and 2.7% sold for at least $25,000 over asking price.5.5% of all homes sold in August sold for more than $1 million, a new high mark for the year.The sale-to-list price ratio lowered slightly to 98.6%, still up from 97.6% a year ago.New construction was 11.9% of total home sales.August sales saw a boost over July, outperforming the prior year and bringing the year-to-date total up by nearly 4%.

Just make sure the new payment still leaves you with healthy cash flow once it’s rented.Like Joey mentioned, short-term rentals offer some attractive tax benefits if you’re willing to put in the work, but you’ll want to make sure it aligns with your current income (if you're looking to use the STR Loophole to offset) and that the numbers make sense for you.

Rather, I would have stuck to just one or two that actually had strong, healthy, sustainable numbers for the long term, rather than going for a large portfolio.

The Midwest has been great for investors making that jump thanks to affordable entry points, strong cash flow, and steady appreciation — it’s a great place to start scaling while keeping returns healthy.

.🏘️ Deal Snapshot (Hypothetical Example)Purchase price: around $490K (≈ $18K/unit)Rehab budget: about $70K (mostly interior updates + deferred maintenance)Market rents: roughly $1,125/unit → ≈ $30K/month or $360K per year grossVacancy: 8 % | Operating expenses: 40 %Estimated NOI: ≈ $200K / yearAfter stabilization, this could support a DSCR refi and healthy cash flow, but the part I’m trying to understand is how the bridge loan and equity piece usually work together.💡 Questions for the communityBridge Loan Mechanics:How do these short-term “interest-only + 100 % rehab funded” bridge loans typically operate in practice?

Make sure you really crunch the numbers to make sure your cash flow is still healthy.

This maintains a healthy 25% equity cushion in the property, which protects you against market fluctuations and keeps your loan options and rates the most favorable.Let’s do some quick math based on your numbers:Your net income is fantastic.