I'm still considering it so I've definitely gained a lot of information from this thread!

You can't compete against the all-inclusives unless you offer complimentary food and booze or you're cheap, as you seem to be confirming.This being said:1) Properties in Mexico/Cancun trade in USD so you have no foreign exchange risk in Mexico while properties in Colombia are traded in COP, the Colombian peso, which has been tanking over the years, eliminating any hope for capital gains for American investors.2) You can get a mortgage in Mexico but you can't in Colombia so even with lower revenue, Cancun would likely still be more profitable, even if you don't take capital gains into account.3) The political risk is much higher in Colombia, especially at this present time.Is Cartagena a bad investment?

They don’t have to be an investor themselves (although if they are it might help) and really just need to be super attentive to your needs.

Out of the 20 letters I've sent, I've had 1 guy get back to me and we were in discussions but weren't able to find a price that worked for the both of us.The issue is that I only have a few houses on my mailing list so far (just places I've walked or driven by that caught my attention), and blindly searching every street and address # to see which houses are actually legal multifamily will take forever and doesn't seem efficient.I know the data is publicly available, I just don't know how to aggregate it in a way that would be efficient and useful for blasting out marketing mailers.Are there any websites that can pull massive lists of all multifamily houses in my area?

It takes a lot of work to find a tenant, your commision gained from the income should only be for the services rendered while the tenant is in the home ( in my opinion ).Some additional fees I can think off, are maintenances fees, for larger projects that require a lot of management and research.

Even if it does appreciate, the only way you realize those gains is if you sell.  

Even though you feel you don't reach the full cash flow potential, you gain on making the lives of those families more comfortable.

I am going to get hit with capital gains and state taxes(Idaho 5.8%)..closing on cabin on the 18th of Nov.

I am looking for a house inspector who goes into every tiny details that need attention and uses a good reporting tool to look at the issues.

How much and what would I do with the gain on sale, and how does that help or hurt my strategy?