The good news is that with the right approach, you can also achieve positive cash flow in these markets.Ultimately, success in real estate investing hinges on selecting a growing market, a desirable neighborhood, and building a strong support team.

Is this a good approach, or should we look at a different shade or finish?

Have you already selected a builder? 

Getting less every month is still generally more cost effective than dealing with a tenant that stops paying or causes damages to the property.However, if you do decide to change your selection criteria and you are worried about fair housing, the main thing is documentation.

It may limit your property manager's ability to select the best tenant.

To avoid going through the same poor experience, keep reading.Even if someone gives you a referral here, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that the PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

We use buildium accounting for our units -- it was one of the reasons we selected buildium.

If there's selective demo that's required after the initial demo is completed for the electrician, plumber and HVAC tech, do you wait until sheetrock is hung to have it cleaned up?

My suggestion would be to select someone with the most forum posts or most reviews.

You can’t selectively apply the loss.