It's used to determine the cost of producing a product or service, and is a key tool for businesses to remain competitive and profitable.

A few quick items:Red flags / tips:- Seller not willing / able to produce a written lease.

Many so-called "income properties" don't produce nearly the kinds of returns we see advertised on the internet. 

@Dave Foster points out other structures as well with more control, yet still produce attractive passive income. 

On the other hand, you build wealth by having income producing assets.

for example "the us and Taiwan lead in....." no, it would just be Taiwan, the US produces diddly squat in contrast to Taiwan or, really anywhere for that matter, measuring domestic production vs domestic production.

I don't know.So for $56,000 dollars down plus (an estimated) $7,500 in closing costs plus another $5000 in furnishings, you get an asset that produces about $500 dollars a month. $68,500 / $500 per month = about 12.4 years to get back the intial investment.  

So while they take their management fees, their incentive to produce is nowhere near what I would like. 

The articles conclusions MAY be self serving - we need to look closely  to perceive any motivations for WHY the writer is producing the article. 

It is possible to achieve better returns, but this property has already produced outstanding return and requires little effort for this return.Good luck