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Here are some recommendations for you:Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meetSet up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsRead Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investingCheck out BP Podcasts: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/podcast/If you wish to tag someone in the conversation on the forum, type @ followed by their name and then select the name of that person which should appear below the comments box.

Bigger Pockets is such a wealth of knowledge that it is easy to get somewhat lost.You can search forums by category and scroll through the most recent for interesting sounding topics or search for specific keywords.  

I wanted to know what equations/metrics are a MUST HAVE when looking at a possible deal - I'm having a hard time trying to pin down which hold the most weight and make the largest impact in the rental world!

Here are some recommendations for you:Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meetSet up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsRead Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investingCheck out BP Podcasts: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/podcast/Wishing you the best!

Here are some recommendations for you:Read Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investingCheck out BP Podcasts: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/podcast/If you wish to tag someone in the conversation on the forum, type @ followed by their name and then select the name of that person which should appear below the comments box.

Either way you can’t  predict those dynamics and purchase and sale transactions in my opinion should put a lot more weight on price.

But now that I've found the BP calculators, I'm in love...and so is my financial planner, if for no other reason, it takes some of the weight of telling me "No" off of him because I can see for myself that it's a bad deal. 

Would it be better to add in clauses to the lease or would an addendum signed by the tenant hold the same weight.

It might sound expensive but this is off the books money and that carrys a lot of weight to me, not having my credit dinged or showing a brand new loan on my credit report bringing the score down when i go to finance it long term is a huge help if your financing in your own name.