I only invest in Milwaukee.

We don't want to have to produce funds up front, hence negating the advantage of the swap.  

I wouldn't buy a negative cash flow property as a newbie.  

Sometimes I only can make one or the other too because of scheduling conflicts. 

I only have about $5000 capital and no leads to private investors.

Cons: bedroom is very small (will fit a queen bed, but not a king), no dishwasher or laundry.I never had trouble renting it (it really was a cute place) but putting the negatives in the ad helped cut down on useless showings.

I think the benefits far out weight the down side..the amount of deals I get yearly from fellow agents that know I am in the bizz far out weight any negative.

You definitely don't want to go negative CF in exchange for appreciation. 

Unless it's $1200, you won't cover vacancies, repairs, etc. and it will be cash flow negative.

This was a town that, until I flew in to look at this property, I only knew from google-driving.