@Daniel DeBruin, this is really all market dependent and how much you want to spend versus how much it will impact both the rent you can achieve as well as the quality of tenants it attracts.When it comes to design, it is all a bit personal opinion, but I will say: contiguous flooring always trumps mismatched, hodge podge flooring.  

Additionally, title companies and may have an internal real estate attorney to help with the contracts and sale. 

If I find a property that I am interested in, contact the broker for more information or additional details...What's next? 

I'm in Tampa and, in addition to financing homes, we've built our share of ground-up spec homes here in the Bay Area.

In other words, this is cash we didn't need to spend (to pay taxes) due to our MTRs.Taken together, cash flow of 7.4%, appreciation of 5.3%, and tax benefits of 20.8% is a promising start for us.

Additionally, the macroeconomics here has seen significant growth - population and jobs are both growing, and major companies started moving and developing here (Intel, Google, Amazon, FB, etc).

How many hours do you spend managing the property vs. others, etc?

As long as you can afford to make the repairs within the next year or so and you're not spending more than the house is worth, I would move forward with the purchase.

Here’s a rundown of my current situation:- Own an S-Corp (landscaping) generating 70k a year- 160k in available cash funds- Credit score around 720- Zero debt- Own one property valued at 365k, 30% equity- Property is rented by the room generating $400 a month after mortgage and taxes- Additional 590sqft house is being built in rear of property for 60k.

An additional benefit of a detailed engineering-based Cost Segregation Study is that it can increase potential insurance premium savings as well as provide support for the property tax appeals process.