I am an electrician.

Great questions—buying in an AE flood zone definitely comes with risks, but it can also be an opportunity if you analyze the numbers, insurance costs, and future resale potential carefully.

I have forced an additional 30% of appreciation through some redesign and repairs.

I'm an investor and agent in Sacramento.

I am leaning on local first for my next investment, but not ruling out an out-of-market opportunity. 

This would give me an edge in investing in townhomes/condos, but I'm having difficulty finding condo investing resources. 

So, I would be very conservative (for your standpoint) on the researched estimate.I would do what I suggested above, then if the tenant takes you to small claims court you explain to the judge the legislative time restrictions you were under in order to come up with an accurate repair expense.This is yet another example of how "tenant protection" laws, in practice, end up hurting the tenant in the end.

I am wondering how they are as an investment these days.

Purchase price: $204,000 Cash invested: $30,000This deal was an almost brand new construction in an up and coming area on the outskirts of Houston, TX.

There seems to be an endless number of these listed with attractive cap rates.