> It perplexes me, and the rest of our neighborhood, how someone can float a mortgage, much less an investment mortgage, without a renter. This may easier to e

> It perplexes me, and the rest of our neighborhood, how someone can float a mortgage, much less an investment mortgage, without a renter. This may easier to explain than you might expect. Anecdotally, the people I know in a similar position own all those properties free and clear, there is no mortgage. Consequently, the carrying costs of that empty house are quite low and easily afforded. Also if the mortgage is very old. I know someone with a single-family home in Silicon Valley they don't live in with a mortgage of ~$1000 per month; you can imagine how low the property tax bill must be. While I am sure there are people with several rental properties mortgaged to the hilt, I don't think it is that common.