We are about to cancel and go another direction as our experience has been the opposite of what we anticipated.

I anticipate the attorney would begin reaching out to the owner before the redemption period ends??

He expects the next few months to be his best of the year so he's excited.While I self-manage my current rental and plan to self-manage our Santee property (if we do end up renting it, that is), I would anticipate using a PM for anything larger and certainly OOS. 

I've tried to estimate high for most expenses, sort of planning for the worst, so I anticipate over time I might be saving more than is necessary.

I wasn't anticipating forced appreciation.

Based on area comps we anticipate a return of 8-10% after all closing costs and fees.

Been paying almost 6 years of home warranty on our first property of about $360 for first 3 years and now $720/year in anticipation of a HVAC failure (HVAC was 15 years old when we acquired the property), which amounts to $3.2k in sunk cost.

I would be happy with an overall average of $140 a door, that would land me exactly where I anticipated, using other metrics.

Then you've got to see what your'e true gain position is - The net sales price you anticipate minus the adjusted cost basis of the property. 

The game played from Far Rockaway to College Point, from LIC to Douglaston is pretty much the same:  anticipating appreciation.Sometimes you can 'force' some appreciation by fixing up some units, but the rents WILL NOT cover your expenses.