Am I doing my analysis correctly for buy and hold purchases?

[Brian H.]

Hey everyone.  

So, I am/have been in the process of purchasing my first buy and hold investment.  I am just curious as to whether I am doing my numbers correctly?  What do you all include in your expenses when doing your analysis? I will lay out what I include below, maybe you could let me know if I am setting aside too much for anything or not enough?  Thank you so much!!!

Monthly Buy and Hold Expenses:

• Mortgage & Interest 
• Vacancy (5% of monthly rent)
• Repairs (5% of monthly rent)
• Property Taxes 
• Insurance
• Cap Ex (I had this set at $185 for any property I analyzed. I think I got this out of one of @Brandon Turner books?  What do you guys do for Cap Ex when doing an analysis?)
• I don't include property management because eventually I hope (10+ years down the line) to just manage my properties as my job. If I wanted property management it would be way down the line when I was retired and hopefully a lot of mortgages were paid off so it won't be a big issue.

Just seems like I am really struggling to find good cash flow AFTER all these expenses are taken into account in my area and even a good 50 miles from my area.  What am I doing wrong? Thanks!!!