We prefer not to have pets but do a through screening of tenants and pets so hopefully avoid some of the excessive damages by getting good owners.

They take what they feel are comps and sort of average the price after adjusting for differences, then add a factor for excess or less Sq footage.So if 6 close comps sold for an average of $100K and averaged 1500 sq ft, all else equal, they would start at 100K then if the subject property was say 1650 ft they would add like $20-25 per foot for the additional 150 ft.

So, it is a liability UNLESS it produced income in excess of the expenses.

If the cost of an attorney and all of the filing costs that go along with it seem excessive, then you're probably not at a point where you need all that.

However, that amount of excess is recent due to my wife becoming full time where she works, so no nest egg built up yet.

At least you can see what the appetite is out there in your local market. 2.

I'm just applying the 50% rule that says 50% of gross scheduled rents will go to vacancy, expenses (taxes, insurance, routine maintenance, make ready costs, tenant damage in excess of deposits, utilities at least when its vacant, CPA fees, legal fees) and capital (roofs, floors, appliances, furnaces, sewer lines, etc.)

We have an appetite for SFH properties and now are setting up our infrastructure in Mobile, Huntsville, and Nashville.

If yours exceeds that, you won't get much value for the excess.

But if there is nt something like excessive repairs you found out about after getting it under contract, the seller may not want to go back to the table.