I researched numbers of previous years and there seems to be a spike around this time before more houses come on the market and things settle down.The icing on the cake was that there was very little in our price range in a 2 mile radius when we came on the market.

Not appreciation (that is just icing).  

That's icing on the cake.

However, I would never have one with an automatic ice maker in it - that's the first thing to break. 

Are you counting exterior maintenance: lawn/landscaping, snow/ice removal, etc?

@Deanna McCormick I went to the house with the contractor and the paint on the house is cream color.

They might even be tattoo artists while off the property, that doesn't mean they will turn your unit into a tattoo parlor. 

Actually finding something on the list would just be the icing. 

Having good cash flow is necessary going into the deal - appreciation (if any) is icing on the cake....

Hi my name is jeremySo recently ive stumbled across bigger pockets and am trying to learn how to get started in the real estate investing world Its always been a passion and dream to do this even as a kid but i didnt think it was possible without large amounts of capital i see now that there are other ways tho i am not fully aware and understanding themSo let me start with an introduction hi im jeremy, im a plumbers apprentice and actively saving , currently i live at home after moving back when the whole rent and live with roommates thing didnt work and i felt like i was not getting anywhere paying rent vs paying payments on a loan , ive got a few thousand right now and am in a odd spot as i dont know if i should stop putting money away for a loan payment and buy a car ( i lost mine due to black ice and insurance didnt cover) i dont necessarily need it to work but i think it will be needed to look at potential properties when im getting ready to pull that triggerAnyways my plan when i first started my job was to just get fully licensed in plumbing and once i have it i would be knowledgeable enough to do most if not all plumbing repairs in any property thinking it would be saving me thousands of dollars when/if i needed to do any type of repair to the unit or its water/heating systems vs paying for it, granted as i get more and more property ill doubt ill still be interested in doing it but i figured its a good stable job to start with and i could always fall back on if needed.