My ex wife taking much, if not all the profits, though :( Then I went all in, buying all I could find in a very small geographic area near my home from 2012 to 2014.

Properties in the lower cost areas may look better on paper but once you factor in vacancy, true turn over costs, and cap ex, things don't look as good.I have been in a few nice multi-family properties in oildale but most are pretty rough and have major issues with deferred maintenance. 

How accurate should the cap ex number be?

I will assume your cash flow projections are good and include cap ex, maintenance, vacancies, PM fees, miscellaneous, etc.Selling gets you virtually $0 so in effect you have $0 invested. 

please tell me your secrets.7) cap ex. budget for it. yes you may have brand new systems, but brand new systems break down with time just as everything else. you may not ever see the bills, but i would make sure i was prepared for it.8) repairs, do not underestimate the the destructive ability of tenants.

Figure out how much it would cashflow as a rental, with factoring for vacancies, cap ex, repairs, and management, and hoa.

After cap ex, maintenance, vacancy, management, etc, etc I cash flow roughly $1000/month, with $2500 more in revenue.

Vacancy: 1800Maintenance: 1200Cap/ex: 675Management: 2025Lawn maint: 480Water/sewer: 1200NOI: 12233/.10 = 122330ROI: 12.3%question is what method would the appraiser use to value the property.  

If it will only produce $50-100 not accounting for cap-ex then it’s not going to cash flow.

Ex: If I have someone that wants to book long term I'll find out what their total is from VRBO/Airbnb and I can cut a deal with them where their price comes down and my payout goes up.