Beyond Price - Metrics You Consider?

[Daniel Gabler]

I have not invested in a property yet as I continue to build up my knowledge base (Been about a year of consistent reading of guides, books, this forum etc.) and had a few questions.

1. Besides some of the top-line figures such as purchase price, rent estimates, financing costs, management costs, etc (General Rules of Thumb). What are some of the indicators that you more seasoned pros here look for in neighborhoods? 

School systems? 

Employment Figures? 

Anything besides just the cold-hard figures?

2. How in-depth does everyone get with cash-flow projections. As a newbie, I have built a spreadsheet to estimate monthly cash-flow projections, but it "feels" basic. It includes: 

Total Purchase Price (Down Payment + Renovation Costs)

Projected Gross Monthly Rent (I assume a 1mo/yr vacancy to be conservative)

Projected Net Monthly Rent (50% of Gross)

Debt Servicing Payments (Principal and Interest Columns)

Monthly Net Income (Proj. Net Monthly Rent - Debt Service Payment)

After-Tax Monthly Net Income

Am I missing anything in the big picture?