@Tom Gimer, I've never had a title company want to go toe to toe with me before as usually they stay neutral in these discussions as they don't want to bring attention to the horrendous costs consumers hand over in title costs and fees on every purchase and refi!   

Although I like this one   "Negative Gearing "  Their term for Negative Cash flow. so  an IP is either neutral Gear Negative Gear or Positive Gear..

I used to own a carpet cleaning service and we would use the black light to locate pet urine in order to flush those spots with a neutralizer for the odors, and then use our truck mounted system to clean the carpet.

Software's cool too, but its still just a tool & a tool is only as good as the guy using it.Put in a lot of wiggle room on your numbers (conservative underwriting)Don't forget your holding costs, builders  risk insurance, taxes, utilities, security etcThis is all cocktail napkin stuff I'm giving you, you'll figure it out more.Don't overbuild but do be very detail oriented, neutral colors, VERY clean.

I found a few differnt grays with white trim works for us the neutral color appeals to most everyone.

@Adrian Smude I am going to stand in a neutral position and say that there's no harm in a small gift (valued at no more than 1% of your monthly rent) but only if they've been good tenants.

Through a combination of buy-down and in some cases, increased down payment, we are getting neutral or positive cash flows.

I don't know your work situation but I would basically put in whatever cash you need to in order to a) get in (if you have no job or a new job you might not be able to finance) and b) attain cashflow neutral or positive.

we only use the data our title company sends us weekly which is real not hyperbole.its includes the zips i want to know about.included in the reports:1. average sale price and per sq ft average age as well.2. list of all the active new home subdivisions that are currently selling sq ft and price points and owners of same.3. on a macro level sales activity is it hot sellers  neutral or buyers market  this data is updated weekly.

Our desire is to make the properties cost-neutral vs. you doing the legwork yourself.