Particularly around the Springfield Town Center, where 2 million square feet of commercial space and thousands of residential units are in the works by property owner Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT), to be delivered by 2026.Below I will go into the reasons why Springfield Virginia real estate market has strong potential for future growth in the coming yearsSpringfield Town Center is Approved to add 2 million Square Feet of Commercial Space and Thousands of Residential Units, Coming in 2026Although many malls suffered greatly during COVID-19, certain malls have begun to make a comeback, such as the Springfield Town Center, which not only is at pre-pandemic levels of visitors and retail vacancy of 4%, but the average time of visit has increased for the mall.

But I'm concerned about the challenges of frequent turnover and vacancy rates.If anyone has experience with MTRs, I’d love to hear your insights!

So if you're next vacancy is Sept 1, it makes sense there aren't many inquiries yet.

mortgage closing costs: 2 to 5%property value appreciation: 3 to 6%cash on cash return: 2 to 4%cap rate: 4 to 5%rent growth: 3 to 5%rental property expenses growth: 2 to 4%repairs & maintenance cost: 5 to 10%capex: 1 to 3 %Vacancy rate: 4 to 6%Mahalo !

You asked about the risks and benefits of using leverage in real estate investing.The reality is leverage cannot be avoided, usually, in real estate investing.The risks are you get over-leveraged and your don't have enough cashflow and reserves to weather a market shift, extended vacancy, or major repair.The advantage is you increase your ROI by using other people's money and as little of your own money as possible.

Emergency Fund (5-10% of Income)Rule of Thumb: Set aside 5-10% of your income for an emergency fund.Why: This fund should cover unforeseen expenses like major repairs or vacancies.

Short term rentals seem to be the only way to have a positive cashflow after keeping aside money for repairs, CapEx, vacancy, etc. and still have a decent CoC return.What do people here think? 

Check vacancy rates, repair costs, ARVs, etc.

So let's say the purchase price is indeed $252k.20% down, 30 year fixed rate loan at 7.5%Monthly payment would be $1,410Property Taxes would be at least $2000/yr given that it is not homesteaded - so at least 165/monthInsurance will be around 80 to 100/month - we'll say 80/monthSo we are now at 1655/month before vacancy and capital expenses.You quote renting to a Section 8 tenant - I'd add $2400 in cap ex per year then. 

Management fees, lease up costs, turnover costs vacancy rates, repairs, licenses,  non paying tenants etc. are all examples of these.