Here is the question I want to bounce off everyone to determine if my thinking is correct or not:Hypothetical example: If I'm looking for a home that will have a monthly payment of $1500, I am placing more emphasis on homes that would have a lower percentage of it being mortgage cost with the rest as PI.

Education is part of it, but they will place the most emphasis on actual deals and experience.

Carpet needs to be cleaned regularly and replaced in high traffic areas every few years which on the cheap (emphasis on cheap) will be 1.50/sf.

Having a high income or net worth ("global factors") doesn't seem to factor in (I imagine it would factor in if personal finances were negative though!).   

Too many people put an emphasis on using "other people's money" without explaining that the people doing it successfully have cash reserves and/or lots of experience otherwise.

I come from the global B2B marketing world and I think that knowledge could help me succeed at whole selling.

I am curious, would you put a greater emphasis on having an equity cover or on the asking price as a % of unpaid balance, especially in a changing market?

@Ryan WilliamsHey Ryan, I'm an asset manager for a global bank.I've worked as, and on behalf of, the largest institutional landlords as well as smaller private landlords.The natural path that you'll see is analyst -> associate -> asset manager, or something along that path.Mine was a bit different but nonetheless learned similar skills in underwriting, analyzing and strategically (re)positioning assets.

My hypothesis is that Airbnb is significantly winning share and moving up the value chain in this geography... and it is this realization (possibly globally) that is leading to this verbo rebranding effort.

So is the Sales Proceeds when you sell.When an Investor believes that the definition of Cash Flow has ONLY (and I want to make sure you see the emphasis on ONLY) to do with how much monthly cash he puts into his pockets on a monthly basis and ignores all other cash flows, the the statement "X property makes $xxx amount of cash flow" is FLAWED at best.As Kai pointed out, you can be at ZERO monthly cash flow but if you sell at a huge profit, meaning your LAST cash flow which is your Sales Proceeds is HUGE.... your overall Return is GREAT, if you count EVERY Cash Flow.Similarly, if you were making, say, $200 per month in year 1, which may be a 10% Cash on Cash Return if you invested $24,000 out of your pocket, BUT, if you were forced to sell the property after Year 1 for a LOSS of $3,000 in Seller's Closing Costs, then your DEAL was BAD because you lost money overall.