Quit comparing yourself. 

These are examples of how you could still be comparing apples to oranges focusing on safety and cash flow alone.

It's obviously a lot more complicated to compare the different business models, making the blanket statement "Us commishes are 3x higher" extremely flawed logic.

@Ben Berg with renting rates, roommates or a straight rental, you always look at comps, or comparable homes.

Anyone who is crazy high or crazy low compared to the others needs to be looked at carefully. 

To what extent does landscaping typically add value to a property for the purposes of appraisal and re-financing, compared to other improvements? 

How are you comparing the cost of a new build to one with an existing duplex?

The city's appreciation, vacancy rate, cap rates are truly unparalleled when compared to the other markets you’ve mentioned.

Then compare it to my data-fed program.

Yes, the credit utilization ratio does impact your scores (see below) but, if you're out of debt & not using your credit cards, you may not see a hit to your scores.Amounts Owed (30%): Represents your credit utilization or how much debt you owe compared to your credit limits.