Dramatic rise in interest rates. 

Plus I don't see a lease up fee so if you're getting mgmt w/o a lease up fee then $25 is pocket change.Find a NARPM accredited PM and your likelihood of getting a bad manager drops dramatically. 

I' thinking that getting the properties out of my name and into an LLC would boost my personal credit and open up new opportunities of investment for me.  

Prices vary dramatically by city and even neighborhood.

I've heard there is now FHA 0% down for 104% of appraised value ... not saying I would necessarily make a blanket suggestion for this product, but will say that where there is a will there's a way, and you retain control over your investment locally while you don't out of state, which dramatically jacks up your risk out of state, especially for a newbie without scale or experience.

Ive seen a lot recently about Wellington boosting its game in terms of attracting more people there, do you think some of the overflow of Auckland might spill down south?

You will be fine and will boost your Cash on Cash exponentially way beyond the 3% (assumption) you will save from the Listing Agent's side.Always remember: commissions are calculated on the TOTAL sales price but the come out DIRECTLY ONLY FORM YOUR EQUITY.

So, changing it dramatically will take time - if you could erase years of mistakes in just a few weeks, the credit score would not be a very useful tool for lenders and landlords, right?

PM me if you'd like more details.Your tax return with investment real estate will be more complex than without, but it shouldn't be dramatically more complex.

Depending on whether you buy a SFR or Multi with residential financing, or conventional commercial financing, or hard money, the numbers will change dramatically.