I just walked away from a deal because although the overall cash on cash was good, there wasn't enough room for unexpected costs or prices softening.

Main thing for a septic system , NO GREASE , NO WHITE TAILED MICE , NO GARBAGE DISPOSAL . no fabric softener (dryer sheets) , and use liquid laundry detergent . 

Softening of markets tend to pull down top of market properties.

I've already seen some softening in the market compared to the absolute feeding frenzy of last year, but prices are still high.Bigger question is whether we should sell the other 2-family...the one we live in.

In this case it’s cheaper to pay out to soften the hit to your business because unfortunately 1,000 cash is cheaper than 6 months no rent and 1500 in eviction court .

This is the unfortunate reality of NJ overall, especially since rental prices have softened over the past couple years.

This has all worked so far and will become more important as the rental market softens in certain markets.

I think if rates continue to climb prices will soften, but if your strategy is buy and hold it wont matter as LA rents will not dip. 

I don't see many deals like that in GNO right now (though I have seen things softening some).

Personally installed tankless water heater, water softener and high efficiency HVAC system.