Great post, FMO.

I really like the idea of owning rental property as I did rent one house I owned a few years ago and didn't have any major problems.

However, the problem I would have in the above scenerio would be coming up with a 20% downpayment. The majority of my money is in IRA's and a 457 plan and it's untouchable to me. I do have a little bit in a taxable account that I could use for investment purchases, but not enough for a property like this.

I see houses for sale in my area in the range of 50-60K. I don't know rental prices and this is where I need to do my homework, but I'm guessing something like this would rent for $400/month.

If that guess was true, would a 2 minute thought on this lead you to say this would work or would you say stay away from houses that can be bought for 50K.

I would still have to come up with the downpayment though and there lies the main problem. That initial downpayment and then enough in the bank to cover any emergency repairs that may crop up.

I think you said something in another post about 0% down deals. Are these possible to get for investment properties and are they worthwhile, or do you think it's better for someone to save up a downpayment.

A few years ago, I discussed with my wife the idea of slowing down my investments into equities and saving for a downpayment on a rental property. She liked that idea as a rental property is here and she can see it versus a stock is not and it may be worth $100 today and $2 tomorrow. Property values may drop, but usually not as dramatic as a stock could.

Thanks for any comments you may have.

mazske