They can also be another item that will need maintenance / replacements if they break down. 

This is for mid-range quality and minimal assembly items- what you save in purchase price you will lose in replacement and assembly costs!

I just can't see a world where there isn't some tax change that happens next year to at least make some of the more procedural items of the TCJA permanent + other changes.

It would primarily be the due diligence items that would cause a snag.

It took me about 10 landlord conversations to find one that was on board with this model.

We make an extra payment on each rental per year (doesn't help the numbers) but we want to get them paid off faster.Hey JaronThanks for the kind words and yes, I am really liking Joe's idea (but we are working on modeling this out over time to see what it will look like in the future). 

sounds like the do hardmoney model and from the same neck of the woods.. would not be surprised if it was the same actors or an off shoot of them 

Over the year, I fixed some items up and raised rents as 3 out of 4 units were under market.

My Guess is these are likely small enough items/repairs that probably weren't looked at too deeply or considered during the due diligence and inspection, which I would totally understand.

Here's some food for thought:- Many of my first time investors know from the jump that they aren't going to be driving 5 hours round trip for every little item, and also know that they arent prepared to handle things like disputes, evictions, lease violations, etc.