The pros of residential, always in demand, appreciation is faster, loans are easierThe cons of residential, deal with tenants, landlord has no rights (may depend on your area), potential for lots of turnoverPros of commercial, longer term leases so hopefully less turnover, if you NNN tenant takes care of 99% of the issues (dependent on how lease is written)Cons of commercial, if tenant leaves you may be empty for awhile, getting a loan is a complete PIA and shorter durations too, so will always need to refiI will say, if you do a multi-tenant building, I would 1000% put it in an LLC for protection.  

You can see these charges added into your payoff demand by line item.

We’ve seen it firsthand: agents who refer investors to reliable management get repeat buyers, faster transactions, and referrals that come full circle.What would happen if, instead of guarding “our lane,” we built ecosystems that served clients from purchase to portfolio growth?

If financial independence is the objective, then the income from your rentals has to meet certain requirements:Rents and prices need to rise faster than inflation.Operating costs must stay low.

The city has been putting energy into airport expansion and some hospitality projects, which should help bring more jobs.Hammond has been heating up with prices moving past $200k and selling faster than last year.

This changes the game.Example: Studio Unit (fully furnished, permits, foundation included)1) Market Rate, No IncentiveBuild cost: $200–225K | Market rents today: $1,500–$2,000/mo | NOI: $12.6K–16.8K/yr | Yield: ~6–8% | Payback: 12–18 yrsSolid, but long payback and moderate yield.2) With Charlotte’s $80K Forgivable IncentiveEffective basis: $120–145K | Program rent cap (8 yrs): ~$1,100/mo → NOI ≈ $9.2K/yr | Yield during affordability: 6–8% | Forgiveness adds ~$10K/yr “earned income” | Payback to recover gross cost: ~11–13 yrsThe subsidy de-risks the deal—guaranteed inflows cover build cost faster.3) After 8 Years (rent cap lifts, market rents w/ 3% compounding)$1,500 today → $1,900 | $1,750 today → $2,217 | $2,000 today → $2,534Year-9 ROE after incentive: $200K build / $120K net basis → 13–18% | $225K build / $145K net basis → 11–15%You exit affordability with a permanently lower cost basis and market-rate income.

So as the landlord, how do you determine the fair amount to charge.  

My biggest concern has been making sure I buy in areas with a solid tenant pool, so I really connect with what you said about that being the first thing you look at.Curious — if you were starting again today, would you still focus on higher-quality markets even if it meant fewer doors up front, or would you mix in more “affordable” properties to get the ball rolling faster?

If I go to one of the local tax pros in town, they'll charge around $500-$600 to do my tax return if I have mostly just W-2 income and a rental property. 

@Ian Gilligan  a utility cap is something you put on something like your electric to limit it so that if someone exceeds normal use by a lot you charge them.