Running The Numbers, HELP!

[Louis Schmidt]

Hello, I am looking to buy my first property. I use the BP Calculators to estimate potential CF. One of the biggest issues i am finding in my analysis is that i just cant find the return I am hoping for. I love the calculators and was hoping someone would have some insight on what they do and what they look for. I notice that on a lot of deals it is the CAPEX reserves and vacancy that hurt my numbers. I know how important both of those numbers are, but I have spoken with some investors who say "yes we account for vacancy and CAPEX but when analyzing deals we do not account for that in our CF, we will make sure to have reserves though". SO I am curious, what are people on BP doing? How are you guys running the numbers and what numbers are you looking for? Thank you.