That raises a big strategic question for us:Option 1: Buy a primary residenceStop paying rentLock in a property in SoCalPotential appreciation upsideAccess to primary residence financingPotential tax advantages (including 2-year capital gains exclusion)Option 2: Skip primary, go straight into rentalsDeploy capital into short-term or long-term rentals (likely out of state for better cash flow)Focus immediately on building income-producing assetsMaintain flexibility while rentingOur priority long-term is cash flow and building a scalable portfolio — but we also recognize the potential stability and tax benefits of owning our primary.For those who’ve faced a similar fork in the road:Did buying your primary first help or slow your investing journey?

One was for a toilet that she said wouldn't flush (turns out she wasn't allowing the tank more than a few seconds to refill) and one was for the unit being too hot (in a building that has a central plant system, meaning the entire building is on either a/c or heat and individual units cannot control their own heating and cooling).

You want a frost-proof silcock with a shutoff valve inside the house and installed so that the base of the valve unit on the outside of the house (the brass unit at the end where you turn on/off the water) is flush to the outside wall.

That’s helpful insight — I’m starting to notice traditional spreads are tighter here, so I’ve been exploring when creative structures make more sense than straight wholesale. 

But I'll be straight with you -- moving countries AND learning to invest at the same time is a lot to juggle.

If you do not have evidence they did something to create the problem, including flushing wipes, I would consider it a normal maintenance call.

I prefer a straight profit split.  

A shower head uses 2.0 gallons per minute , The tenant would have 14 minutes of hot water at that rate on a single 29 gallon tank , if they were ONLY running straight hot .

What's the cap rate as a rental vs straight investment property?

- raising private money from investors for the down payment My question is, would it be better to develop a 2-4 unit multi-family or go straight into building a 15-20 unit build raising capital and giving returns on the project.