You're describing your emotions about the house...and trying to equate that to how it matters as an investor. 

In SC specifically, it equates to ~1.2% for owner-occupied vs 3.4% for rental properties.  

This equates to a large monthly debt service and larger holding costs.See here:  https://www.biggerpockets.com/companies/hard-money/location/louisianaAlso check out these:https://nolahardmoney.com/https://www.thekpcgrp.com/realestate/https://limaone.com/https://ironbridgelending.com/Have you looked at using a local bank?

@Rufus WhiteMy apologies I put the wrong name on the equation, I am trying to keep it as simple as possible. 

But then again if there is a big tree leaning over that brand new roof, or if you often get significant hailstorms and the like then the equation may change and you would want to be setting aside more for expectable damages/treatments. 

Would it be feasible to consider loan-pay down and home appreciation as valid inputs in the equation?

And doing expensive upgrades that won’t equate to more rent each month is not smart from an investing point of view . if you upgrade wait till the tenants are out and be sure to jack up the rent too .

I can tell you that with the bigger pockets calculators  "other income" doesn't factor into the equation when calculating property management fees based on a percentage of monthly income, and I would imagine this would be the standard in the property management world. 

The other side of that equation is that there are a few quality companies operating in what appear to be subpar long-term investment cities. 

You will also need to be able to estimate repairs.I feel like a decent equation to use is:Max Offer = (70%* of ARV) - (Repairs Needed) - (Wholesale Profit)*About 6 years ago you would have needed to use 65 or even 60% because profits were that big.