They often chose worse than you even thought.I just got good at flinching during the initial walk-through but you took it to another level! 

If you can stomach that initial phase you'll be in a great position when the property is cashflow positive and worth considerably more. 

Initially, I went through recommendations from friends or acquaintances. 

My initial concern was that my land business needed something drastically different than what Left Main was actually built for, and my purchase was a bit of an impulse buy after a slick presentation by their sales team and owner. 

New construction in appreciating areas offers long-term value growth, minimal repairs, and potential tax benefits, but often comes with higher purchase prices and slimmer initial cash flow.

Also, what are the most important metrics you go through during the initial screening of a listing?

My initial recommendation is tighten up your lease.  

In the initial years, cost segregation and other deductions can often offset much of this tax, so UDFI shouldn't deter you from real estate investing within an IRA, as it can still be a lucrative retirement strategy.

Where I do agree with James, but this is Section 8 or not, there are somethings that cost more initially but will save you a lot of money over long run.  

We got a lot more opt outs than with the competition and after the headache of getting up and running we just wanted out..They initially would not give us a refund but in the end they did.