Are my number realistic to get started?

[Eric P.]

Wife and I plan on making 2017 the year!  Looks like we'll have about $40k we can use after leaving ourselves a 6 month emergency fund for our personal residence.  Our plan is long term real estate investing, our goal of course is cash flow for financial freedom, but big picture focus is forever retirement income as we're in our early 30s.

The plan is as follows:  $40k budget.

Lets say a home cost of $135k, taxes $4,500 (NJ)

Mortgage with taxes/insurance/20% down = $990 month

management, vacancy, surprises = $300 a month

Total cost = $1,290 month

Would expect to rent for $1,600 for monthly cash flow of $310

We would keep $6,000 in the bank from the start as the 6 month emergency fund.  Which would leave about $7,000 at the time of closing that we may need for any surprises.  This would give us a cash flow return of about 14% on the $27,000 down payment.  Obviously these numbers aren't set in stone.  But these are the ballpark prices I see for the homes I'd be interested in.. sound reasonable? Suggestions, changes, dose of reality?

Also probably worth mentioning my father is a handy man and I'm not bad with minor DIY myself, which is another thing pulling my attention to real estate investing.  We redid our guest bathroom for $500 using things we picked up on sale and at habitat for humanity and my in laws thought we spent over $5,000.