there is certainly variation, but not much. buy the appliances your neighbor has.

@Duke Giordano there are a lot of variations within this space including the different types of communities, facilities, amenities, buy in vs no buy in and specialty services like memory care etc.There is no standard return threshold.

Of course there are variations in those figures when a water heater leaks or pipes freeze (I am in Michigan), so I have a little trepidation as I have never exclusively lived off of my rental income...kind of like going out on a trapeze wire without a net for the first time.I have a good network that send me deals (usually 3-5 a week) to look at...and have roughly $450,000 in free and clear equity.

Go to angel groups and you will be pitched startups of all variations. 

I'm sure there will always be some variation in market value vs asking price.

The market is part of it, but even within the same market you'll see huge variation from host to host.My experience has been that VRBO's algorithm is EXTREMELY momentum driven compared to Airbnb's. 

That variation can obviously cause quite a significant impact, which is why it is a great recommendation to dig in a couple locations to see if you can find the top/bottom of the footing, or the bottom of the wall (I have seen cases with brick foundations and no footings).

It get's a bit more intricate when speaking internationally because of variables such as currency conversions that lend a factoring, it get's a bit down a rabbit hole let's say but point is the U.S. isn't the only one going through massive shift of things, everyone is in variations but in end it all equates the same thing, one's currency income per labor/work hr purchasing less. 

Like with a duplex, I was thinking the LTR half would be rented unfurnished and would provide stable income with less involvement, and then the STR would be furnished and would see much more variation in income with more hands-on work, but would allow my wife and I to use occasionally. 

Although the company promised 25% returns in as little as 45 days by buying and selling foreclosed homes at a profit, the SEC said, in reality it was paying returns to its newer investors by selling properties bought by its older investors -- a variation on a scheme made famous by fraudster Charles Ponzi in early 20th-century Boston.