Some people go detector crazy which gives the tenants more batteries to take and during inspections all detectors most work so we keep it to the min.

"Disclosed Operating expenses:"RUN your own numbers.400 rent X 4 = 1,600 monthly X 12 = 19,20019,200 gross income divided by half.10% vacancy30% operating and expense10% managementYou have then 9,600 a year.At a 10 CAP you have 96,000 purchase price.1 beds have a lot more turnover than 2 beds do.The people get a boyfriend or girlfriend,get pregnant,family member or mom moves in and they now need a 2 bed.Pay attention to if 400 is at market or below market rent.If it's below market you can keep tenants staying for a long time.If it's high for the area or at market people will move as soon as their income starts falling to a cheaper alternative which creates more turnover.For each turnover you will have lost rent and re-condition costs.The 96,000 purchase price does not include immediate fixes.Example the roof needs redone,mechanicals only have 1 or 2 years left before having to replace etc.

I can see supplying batteries for smoke detectors.

It is smart in that you get the tenant to leave on the 15th which gives plenty of time to recondition and re-rent by the first.You would just have to make sure something like this is allowed in a lease in your jurisdiction.

If not with increased management fee you are looking closer to 60% to 65% cost and not 50% annually.Tenants not directly billed bu the water authority use about 30 to 35% more water monthly and do not report water leaks.If the tenants are not paying then you will have months of lost rent,damage to the units,and reconditioning costs.You need to pay close attention to the EXISTING tenant base going in.Run your own checks on them.The existing landlord might have just filled the building up to dump off crap tenants on someone else.The fact that this property has changed hands so frequently leads me to believe it has serious problems.People get think they get a deal and then want to jump off the burning ship quick before going down.Check title history chain and see if you can locate previous owners,their attorney etc. on documents.You can also look up if a previous corp bought it and the controlling officers.

Another city near me requires a permit for battery operated smoke detectors.

When I do the move in, tenants sign a condition statement that includes "smoke detector batteries were replaced on 9/1/12 and all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors were tested and found to be in working order".

When I do the move in, tenants sign a condition statement that includes "smoke detector batteries were replaced on 9/1/12 and all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors were tested and found to be in working order".

You just need a battery for your calculator!

I'll go get new batteries for both.