@Fletcher CaulkSelling expenses reduce any gain you would have recognized.

Thats crazy but such a neat experience.I had a property manager that I was already using in the area and that had proven themselves to be reliable go and check the property out before I bought it.

Make it your goal to be the best deal finder and learn to recognize one when you see it.

Maybe you are early in the process and still learning, but recognizing a deal quickly is critical as is filtering out the junk without wasting too much time.

My free advice is to ensure you have someone escrow the sale and check provenance of their title; that is, don't send your money to the seller hoping they will send you a valid deed back later. 

I wanted to look at a deal and recognize if it's a good deal or not. 

I recognize that I'm asking a bunch of questions. 

. - interested to hear of everyone's experience with the calculators and if they've proven as valuable as they appear.

You've already proven to yourself in 6 months that it could be done. 

I continually seek to balance the work/time required to manage our investments with my 50+ hour workweek, recognizing what the highest & best use of my time is.