New Member with 1st Question (Lafayette, LA )

[Frank Domino]

What's up, BP. Recently discovered the site and am pumped there is such an incredible resource like BP. Look forward to getting to know everyone in the forums.

I'm currently a Commercial Insurance and Risk Advisor in Lafayette, Louisiana (which is a fancy way to say I sell commercial insurance). I've been interested in real estate investing since college but have not done any deals at this time (other than purchasing my family home). The strategy I wish to focus on will be buy and hold rentals which brings me to my first question.....

I am having a really difficult time finding properties that are cash flow positive and am starting to wonder if I'm missing something..... Utilizing a property cashflow analyzer and conservatively estimating all my expenses (maybe too conservative), it's almost impossible to cashflow positive unless I'm putting 40%+ down or factoring in a completely unreasonable purchase price. Most of the properties I am analyzing easily meet the "1% rent rule" and sometimes exceed 2% of the purchase price. Does anyone have any thoughts?

Appreciate any feedback....Thanks.