Any advice is greatly appreciated.David,Here's what I do for my multi-family buyers:Yes it is hard to estimate for maintenance because of a lot of variablesBut I know its expense is less for more units, for things like 16+ unit buildings, onsite maintenance room for storage materials, onsite employees use less hours to do work ordersSome entities even volunteer their residents to pick up grounds, hence minimizing your maintenance costsIf hdsupply.com accepts your account they specialize in multi-family buildings and you don't have to use man power for delivery or pickups And yes, you can do analysis paralysis but it might help you the bank's formula DCRThe 1031 buyers look at expenses differently Yes there's a number per door, e.g. if the units have been neglected you will spend at least one month's rent in turn ready unit expense    An organized well lubricated team should turn ready units in 2-3 daysPay close attention to the human factor, i.e. low self-esteem employees who will take longer to turn ready units or do work orders with poorly workmanship, theft, etc In capital expenses, concentrate in a few and more expensive to start with, AC, plumbing, electrical

However, if you are investing in a less desirable area ensure that you take proper precautions to prevent theft.  

Hi @Tyler Divine, yes there is...1) Provide vendors with a takeoff (you can outsource this) - no two individuals will produce identical takeoffs and if it's a sales rep doing it, cavet emptor.  

So, umbrella insurance policy, which I've never needed (knock on wood).I'm no expert, but I have also heard and read about putting property into a trust in such a way as to protect your identity as the owner; you can't sue who you can't find ... this is intriguing to me if anybody knows more about how to pull this off.

You can still maintain an open feel, while also not doing something that would be too non-standard for a typical single family home (again, unless that's what you're going for).For reference, we did a house many years ago with an almost identical kitchen/lower-level floor-plan, and this is how the standard wood railing looked:

They have some decent looking houses 60/65k range 3/1.I talked to PM they had ~25day vacancy last and rent 695/725 2/1  and 795-850 3/1 depending on sq ft.Crime Rate IndexesKlamath Falls, OR      Medford, OR      United StatesTotal Crime Risk12658100Murder Risk11051100Rape Risk14779100Robbery Risk16576100Assault Risk12772100Burglary Risk162103100Larceny Risk152135100Motor Vehicle Theft Risk12883100

Now I notice that other identical houses are being sold for $100k more than what I bought my house for.

For example, if you see a property that rents for $50 more per month than an identical property, except one has a garage and one does not, you can extrapolate that a garage is 'worth' $50.

@Justin FernandezHere is one definition of "joint venture": "a commercial enterprise undertaken jointly by two or more parties that otherwise retain their distinct identities"For the sake of simplicity and what is most likely in our kind of real estate, let's agree for our discussion that we're talking only about 2 distinct parties (as opposed to 3 or more) joining in the JV.

Again, move-outs are real, vandalism and theft are real, extended vacancies are real and out of ten years an investor can expect to have a year, and in some cases more, where the return is zero.