Appreciation is important, for obvious reasons, but also because appreciation helps pull rents higher.

Purchase price: $590,000 Cash invested: $180,000 Sale price: $1,350,000 At purchase the asset had 3 of 20 tenants paying rent for a total of $2,070.

There wasn't as much systemization so we were always dealing with odd requests and we did what you did, tried to make the best of it and offer something fair.I think as operators we have become too scared of reviews (but they do totally tank you) and the companies should be able to review the back chats to determine if the review was valid.

annual cashflow divided by total investment. 

That is totally up to you.

I would suggest using this website to get a general idea of the locations you are interested in. https://www.areavibes.com/Its pretty cool because they give you a total livability score and you can just see the different data that they give you

I'm not interested in secondary market loans as they're a totally different animal.

The right area to invest in for you totally depends on your buying criteria.

But obviously the main downside is giving up equity that would benefit your future wealth.

That is 4 months' of ALL of your rent to place a new tenant (not to mention the time the unit probably sat empty while they were filling it).So in a year where you had turnover, your PM expenses would be $1,200 + 12x$120/month, for a total of $2,640 in PM expenses for the year.