Also located in EverettContractors are tougher, if you want someone who is great at communicating and will actually give you a detailed bid, you can reach out to Property Doctors.

I hate to say it but this is a much tougher environment now than in 2012 for newbies.  

Even though we typically have a tougher criteria for our investments, we still will see many more deals than the average investor.  

Virginia is a tougher market, especially in Arlington, where there desirable properties have a lot of competition.

@Steve Vaughan  also very much depends on where in the US it is.. and what your tenant base is..some tenant bases around the country are peach's and cream and not tough on property and pay on time.and rarely does  a unit go vacant one moves out 3 to 5 days to clean and turn it another moves in.in other parts of the country tenants move a ton.. are tougher on the homes.. bigger credit risks IE don't pay and it can take more money to turn them over  and longer time finding new tenant.. so it depends.. but 50% is a good rule of thumb if your having to hire it all out that's for sure. 

I just leased two separate 1BR units, Oct 15 and Nov 15th (arguable a tougher time of the year), both at ABOVE MARKET rents.

It is a great strategy and as the market has gotten stronger it has become tougher to do.  

Some of the tougher areas I’d peg at 10% when I run my numbers but in some more solid areas I think 7% is realistic in my experience.

ABQ is a tougher rental market, but opportunities certainly exist! 

For the most part, it won't make sense to spend anything over 300k in this area, and deals are a little tougher to find right now.