I am in a similar situation living in Australia. I bought my first 2bedroom apartment  as close to cash flow positive as I could find, but it still takes money out of my pocket each month. I bought property in the city where I live- Gold Coast, Australia. The property was bought for $250,000.au, loan approval required a 10% deposit upfront ($25,000), interest rates here are 6.5% so the monthly interest payments alone are $1250/month. I also pay $140/month in body corporate and maintenance and insurance fees.
- $1390/month outgoing expense
+$1200/month incoming rent
= $190/month loss.
I looked at real estate thoroughly for over a year and that was the closest thing to cash flow positive I could find where I live. 
Real estate prices peaked in 2009 in Australia and have been gradually falling ever since. I bought  6 months ago and still think that was too soon considering our economical situation. 

Is there any cash flow positive, residential property in Australia outside of the highly risky mining boom towns? (there will be less demand for Australian mining commodities in coming years with China's economy slowing so cash flow positive real estate in mining towns does not seem like a good idea to me).

Shaun

I strongly suggest doing the Coaching program, it has a wealth of knowledge to teach you cashflow, and understand cashflow, and that obviously anything that gives you a negative cashflow is a liability because it is not producing you money.  It is an investment, because after you pay the mortgage you will own and then it will be profitable, but you do not want to wait 20 years to make a profit, so you need to find a property that you can produce a positive cashflow even if it is a very small one. 
    If you think you can not afford the coaching I would definitely buy a few of Rich Dad's books, and other financial leaders books, to better understand concepts.  And possibly the timing is not as good in your area for real estate.  Stay open to different opportunities, maybe rent isn't that great, but maybe owning commercial is better, or just land.  Stay open to different options.

Good Luck.
Marcus

You should NEVER buy a rental property unless it's going to cashflow right away....whether it's your first or 10th property.

Sure if you have more experience you can take loser properties and make them winners but as a first time investor....a sure fire way to hate real estate investing and to get yourself out of real estate investing is to buy your first property that doesn't cashflow!

Nirmal and Shaun,

I think it is so awesome that you guys are looking for a way to build your wealth through cash flowing rental properties, even in markets that might seem tough. So a big congrats on that!

I do agree that if a property is negative cash flow every month, that it is a liability and not an asset. In some markets where the property values are high and therefore it is hard to find property with rental rates high enough to cover your loan costs and other costs, it is a good idea to find motivated sellers that have equity. When you find motivated sellers that do have equity, it is possible to structure win/win deals for the seller, yourself, and the tenant/new buyer.

Some strategies that will help make this work include wrap financing, interest only loans, etc. Many times you will find that sellers might be stuck on a certain price. Often times, the market just does not justify their asking price. When I see a property that has been listed a long time and the price has not moved, I get excited. The reason is simple, I know that their "hot button" is price. When they want price, I go for terms. Financing is much more powerful than price. I would much rather over pay on price but get good terms to where I can cash flow a property. I don't care about paying it off, I just care that it pays for itself and puts money in my pocket! Appreciation is always, just a bonus :) -

Another simple option is to find like minded investors in and invest in another market with them. I am a full time real estate entrepreneur in Arizona and we are seeing GREAT cash flow on properties. If you are interested in checking out what Arizona housing can do for your wealth strategy, go to my website here and contact me through it: http://mypadaz.wordpress.com/for-investors/

Josh