Rental Expense Percenatges

[Jason Porto]

As I attempt to buy my first duplex/triplex/quadplex, and seeing as I currently have no frame of reference, I'm having a difficult time knowing if my expense estimates are accurate. I'm currently looking at a place that should bring in $5,500/month in rent after I move out, and am using the BP rental calculator to run the numbers. The range of recommended percentages are 5-15% for repairs, 3-10% for vacancy, 5-15% for CapEx, and 7-12% for management. If I use the upper end of the spectrum, I would need to set aside $2,860 per month, and if I use the lower end I would need to set aside $1,100 per month. The $2,860 scuttle the analysis for me but the $1,100 is much more palatable so I'm wondering what other people's comfort zone is when analyzing a property. Any thoughts?

Also, after actually owning a property, what do all of you see that you spend on it on average over the long-term? Do you have any hard data to share and compare against the percentages in the BR calculator? I'd love to be able to see how their estimates match up.

Thanks for any responses.