I understand NOI, Cap Rates and financial statements but i am curious if there are certain ratios that i should be aware of or put an emphasis on to help me identify a good opportunity or a red flag. 

@Herman Ruiz if you plan on going to college my advice would be to get a degree in finance with an emphasis on real estate and then get a graduate degree in real estate.

My mistake was not fully looking into the program and I also had no idea there were business programs with an emphasis in Real estate. 

I'm going to chalk that up to you misunderstanding the argument I was making, so I'll copy and paste exactly what I wrote below for ease of reference (adding emphasis):"Must we be forced to either leave our houses vacant or rent them to long-term residents only during those periods?

I definitely agree with you on the emphasis on the Proforma NOI.

“Hold steady” is a mindset issue more than anything.The world won’t accommodate you, so you’ll need some systems to enjoy the good times and weather the bad ones.Growing up, my family always placed an emphasis on real estate as an essential tool for wealth.

I feel like the growing market is the better play, but since they are long term buy and holds am I putting too much emphasis on appreciation.

I would just add an emphasis on studying/learning as much as you can about the financing side.  

@Josh D.I would also put emphasis when explaining your new lease agreement w her that no one over 18 should be allowed to stay at the home 10 of the 30 days in the month.

Emphasis is often placed on how a project unfolds instead of the end result.