So when you see one of us say “consult your tax pro” or “you should get a CPA involved”, we are not soliciting for service, we are both protecting ourselves and trying to protect you as well.Hope this shines a light on part of the discussions.I'm not sure this is an apples to apples comparison.

I made a page for each rental I was using as a comparison.

Seller's end up being responsible for your malfeasance so while it may be "off the books", the liability remains to some extent no matter how your purchase and sale agreement is structured with them.You came out guns blazing against my statement, without clarifying your position, until I poked holes in your comparison between your position and that of the OP.

But at least here is a cash vs. cash comparison. 

The cash flow there is excellent, but I would go into it assuming things will not appreciate as much over time, especially in comparison to Northampton and Lehigh Counties.

In this sense, they are accomplishing a goal of making a relatively affordable (in comparison) unit available to the owner-occupant only. 

Good luck in your hunt.Marc,I noted you are from PA which will serve as a good comparison as that is where I am as well.

Pricing is reasonable and met my expectations in comparison to others.

So wouldn't it make more sense to include loan paydown as part of your ROI calculations so it'd be an apples to apples comparison to the stock market?

Bad underwriting is the primary failure point for most IRR comparisons, and it makes it tough to make apples-to-apples comparisons across various sponsors/brokers/investors because some underwrite very reasonably, or even conservatively, others underwrite aggressively, and yet others underwrite as if they live on another planet.Another consideration is that what is desirable to you in an investment dictates which performance indicator to focus on most.