Having professionals we can call to see how backed up they might be factors in as well - if we can't get a roof done ASAP, that holds everything else up if we have a leak so again, more time, more holding costs, lower ROI.Unfortunately I do not think there is a magic metric that can tell you if the deal is a winner or not. 

He had some colorful language and quite a few magical reasons that he didn’t have to leave.

@Dave AllenRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

It's not a magic bullet to solve all operational needs, but the process works very well when a remote team member at a lower labor rate fits into the needs of a scaling business.

This wasn’t magic or luck.

Unfortunately, every state and every locality has different laws and what works in one location doesn't always work in others, so you have to be very careful about the 'free' advice that is given in online forums. 

I find it's very personal, and dependent a lot on your goals, resources, risk tolerance, location, experience, etc.

They aren't going to magically improve and start abiding by the lease terms but I think there is definitely a possibility that the situation gets worse.I think that's a good point.

Even competent 3rd party management can only mitigate, not necessarily address many of the issues that arise when owning lower tier properties & population growth alone is not a magic pill. 

I know that the general guidance is that emergency funds aren't to be invested, but given our financial security and the fact that we already have a personal e-fund in a safe, non-volatile location, would it still be crazy/unwise to invest this 15k in an S&P500 index fund in a brokerage?