Enough cushion?

@Mike Hanneman the expenses is my utilities of course and paying the water which is usually 150 but I always And a cushion just in case so I say $250 so total monthly expenses 450.

Also, take pictures of the back yard and I would pay to have new sod put in and use the pet rent/fee to cover it and the remaining deposit (after the molding is repaired) to help cushion the cost of sod and labor.Did you charge a fee and rent for the first pet?  

I read that sometimes commercial properties are easier to get lending for since the rent roll can provide an extra cushion for lenders.

I built in a cushion of cash as part of the money set aside for purchase so I could make the changes needed.

I tend to use 15% Vacancy10% Cap Ex10% PM15% RepairsI've found that keeping those reserves roughly in that 50% range is what really matters and can give you enough of a cushion.

The avg vacancy for the past 10 months is 26%.FinancialsGross Rental Income: $84,000Operating Expenses (including extra I've added for cushion): $56, 000Asking: $250,000But at that price, I would be in the negative at 26% vacant (assuming traditional bank financing at 20% down - which no bank will finance a negative building anyways).

However, if you need it rented the day you buy it you did not figure enough cushion for this purchase.

With it being your first deal you will want some cushion in your numbers, just in case. 

I would say it's much better to have three cash-flow positive properties than 6 you have to come out of pocket for every month.If you have extra cash, or are able to save up a decent safety cushion to cover the cost of a property going vacant a couple months or needing a major repair, you could always pay the property down faster with any extra cash flow and still recognize significant savings without obligating yourself to pay that higher amount every month like you would with a shorter term loan.