One thing I did note is my insurance is $3K a year lower due to the monitored fire suppression system in these larger properties versus my smaller properties that sleep 12 or less built close to the same time.As someone who has lived in Illinois twice, the politicians there don't care if people burn as long as they can tax and spend. 

Hello BP,I've been working as a Gov contractor providing Cloud Engineer services for a while, but my true passion is commercial real estate.

@Justin LeeIf it was for services, you need W9s from everyone.

I'd suggest checking in with some social service organizations within a few miles of the property to see if they work with people/populations in the area looking for this type of house.

So long as the rent can’t debt service.

Ensure they send pictures and reports so you can monitor progress.4.Hire Trusted Contractors: Work only with contractors who come highly recommended by people you trust.

@Kyle Kline“Investing for equity and not cash flow” doesn’t mean “buy properties that don’t cash flow.”To me, invest for equity not cash flow means that the PRIMARY reason to invest is for equity growth and an increase in net worth and NOT cash flow.I’ve been investing for over 40 years and while cash flow is important, it’s not why invest.A property must be self supporting ie produce enough cash flow to cover debt service, operational expenses including repairs and replacements.

Also, some places like CA and MD have very tenant "friendly" laws (against the landlord in some cases) so make sure that you know the laws and if possible, have an attorney or service to collect overdue rent and/or eviction as needed. 

Things like landscaping/snow removal and labor cost for repairs are going to be highly variable based on your market so you'd need to do your own research on the going rate by either talking to other local investors, running your own google search, or exploring basic services on thumbtack/angies list etc. 

Would the landlords out there recommend providing extermination service to make tenant happy, or remind her that the home was rodent free at beginning of her lease.