At full occupancy, the cash flow I just keep in reserves for repairs or help pay the principal. 

Deduct NEW property taxes after you buyDeduct home insurance costsDeduct maintenance percentage, typically 10%Deduct vacancy+tenant nonperformance percentage(we recommend 5% for Class A, 10% Class B, 20% Class C, good luck with Class D)Deduct whatever dollar/percentage of cashflow you wantNow, what you have left over is the amount for debt service.Enter it into a mortgage calculator, with current interest rate for an investment property, to determine your maximum mortgage amount.Divide the mortgage amount by either 75% or 80%, depending on the required down payment percentage - this is your tentative price to offer.If the property needs repairs, you'll want to deduct 110%-120% of the estimated repairs from this amount.Be sure to also research the ARV and make sure it's 10-20% higher than your tentative purchase price.As long as the ARV checks out, this is the purchase price to offer.It is probably significantly below the asking price.

So repairs are done at a fair price the same day/night.

When they move out and i paint over the spackle repairs it is usually undetectable. 

Avoid common pitfalls like skipping due diligence, underestimating repairs, and overleveraging having reserves and a strong team is key.Good luck!

Sometimes you will have that next person/family lined up and ready to go, but sometimes it takes much longer and you need do renovations or at least some repairs.

Given your buy box, keep an eye out for properties with strong rental demand and minimal major repairs.

Hey All, I’ve found an off market duplex in need of some repair (estimate unknown as I haven’t been inside yet).

A more realistic expectation is 24 hours which will ensure we can arrange any repairs or corrections with a team, handle it in person, etc. be curious how this plays out as I worked for local developer for a while and developed several properties in Alexandria (Specifically old town) and while the city is challenging like any city - they were mostly realistic.

I position my inspections as 'planning for future repairs/improvements' which mitigates that whole 'he's here to get my security deposit' mindset.And, I would rather have the tenant with me than to have him later claim that something was broken during the inspection.