Always remember that any comps that are given by a person who stands to make more commission by maximizing the value of the property can't be trusted.

#11: I personally would change this or at least add to it: Use leverage responsibly and accordingly to maximize your profits.

Fix up both to maximize potential rents... perhaps $900-1200 per month in this area.

I can maximize that 120k and make a lot more money with it outside than I can inside of the IRA (even if I'm paying taxes).

Although, I specialize with hard money loans, I come from a technical background in programming before micros were born.There are many factors and many have their opinions on this topic as well those who only suggest and recommends only stuff they can profit from.Look at web development programs as a tool to build a house then there are other tools to maximize building a house in your toobox, same as web development.Primary tool though is your web publishing tool. this allows you to build a website.There were some good suggestions here, but each have their pros and cons.I went from frontpage to xsitepro myself.Why !

This will allow you to rent out the lower portion and maximize income for the space. 

In this situation, while it is smart to cut costs to maximize profits, it's important to see the bigger picture.

I am trying to maximize my tax savings through real estate investing. 

I bought a duplex with the help of my stepmom! The price of the duplex was somewhere in the range of $7000. The deal I have with my stepmom is Ive got to give her $550 a/month for 5 years. I’ve got to use my own mone...

Worst case on maximizing cash flow is you miss out on a few deals but the flip side is leverage maximizes your losses in the downturn if you cannot afford to service the debt load.