Tell squatter the judgement will wreck his credit (he probably has bad credit if he's doing this break and enter hold you hostage).

A feather breaks the glass facade now.

Some brokerages actually break down the income numbers, scenarios and risk factors.Some brokerage scrape together a CapRate and call it good. 

They do a Polar Express ride close to Christmas which brings a crowd.

Not only are they not professional tradesmen, but consider this - what if he slips and breaks a leg while working on your property?

If something breaks, I just text someone to go out and fix the issue.

.) - the two obvious metrics are total portfolio value and annual ROI.I have been investing in Milwaukee for 15 years now, a market known for cheap cash flow properties (and yes, they are fool's gold) and I basically buy the highest property quality that I can get to at least break even in year one.

., and breaking the drywall and kitchen cabinets with sledgehammer if I evict them for non-payment of the rent.

Tax benefits can help make a better business deal, but a bad business deal is hardly ever going to break even just because of tax benefits.The other big consideration you should have, in order to actually benefit from real estate fueled losses or credits, it will require a substantial investment of time - either to get over the material participation thresholds for short term rentals, or to get over the real estate professional thresholds for mid term /  traditional rentals. 

New construction at that is a plus.I've been digging for a similar deal myself for the past year in California, but it seems that there's nothing out there that will lead me to break even on a monthly basis unless I do at least 15% down.