$150/mo - Does that cover downside risk?

[David J Carciere]

I was in @Brandon Turner's webinar yesterday and thought all the info was super helpful but one question I'm trying to reconcile is $100 - $200/month enough on a rental to cover any potential downside risk.  I partnered on a couple of homes down in Houston from 2007 - 2014 and that's basically how our model looked.  The problem was it never seemed like we could get ahead.  There was always some kind of issue with maintenance, or capex or tenant and in the end, we were never really able to take any cashflow out of the properties.  

It's possible we had a management issue, we had a 3rd party management company, and I don't really know how competent they were, but that margin just seems so skinny.  I realize in the calculation there's also money set aside each month for reserves, but again, I just wanted to see if that margin works for everyone overall? 

Thanks in advance!

David