This is all beside the point, as I'm trying to allocate some more money toward buying my first actual investment property but not sure what I can or should change.

There are now some which require only $1K as a minimum investment (don't require accredited investors).If I were you, I would hire a top personal financial adviser who charges fees by the hour only.Ask her about asset allocation and where real estate investments fit in.  

Smaller the pool, the greater the risk of financial impact, the greater the allocation requirement for contingency. 

@Nick B I'm going to assume the Contract Services is handling most of the Repairs & Maintenance, so how would you allocate this expense to each line item? 

So my advice is to make sure you factor those costs in and make sure you allocate at least 10-15% of your cashflow each month for maintenance and keep up with it.There is a local meetup the first Wednesday of each month that has about 100 regular attendees. 

Hi everyone,How do you decide how much to allocate for CapEx  (Before you going physically to check the asset ) ? 

Even if you only allocate out 50% of your total water costs (which would be billing each unit an average of only $25/month although this would go down over time) you're going to bump up your cap rate a whole point and put almost an extra 10k a year in your pocket.

Dmitri what funds are you allocating to your first purchase?

My guess too is that now, it could be rare.Note that doing a lease-option or any installment seller financing deal outside the HUD program using Sec 8 payments is illegal, you can get into fraud issues with the use of funds and accepting funds allocated as rent subsidies.You can contact your regional HUD office as to vouchers and development or redevelopment of affordable housing.

@Aaron Montague Being a newbie myself and doing dry run calculations like these as much as I can, I'm curious as to what you typically allocate towards upkeep for your properties?