We have removed all carpet and padding but the odors remain.

I handwrite envelopes in black or blue ink and use red ink on yellow (small pads) paper.

Maybe you'll get lucky and everything will work, but if that's the case, you'll just pad your profit a bit.- Get to know the average life expectancy for various mechanical systems.

Contractor orders materials, send you the quote, you review to make sure they aren't padding it for materials for other jobs, and then you call and arrange payment with the supply house.Yes, this arrangement won't be accepted by 50%+ of contractors, but you are already experiencing the alternative!

I look on Pad Mapper and find a lot of places for rent generally.

The quotes have came in from $1500-$4500 to build, including the pad for the units to be built on.If I charge $25/month for each unit and go with a middle priced bid of $3000, that is an extra $900 a year for $3000 investment. 30% return is good enough for me.

Everything is an estimate, except things like insurance quotes (which I just received one, still waiting on two others), property management fees and taxes (I will get a break on taxes for 2014 because I close after January 1 and the property is currently exempt).Here are my numbers:Rents (pro forma - very conservative I feel) - $8100 per month3 bedroom house (1) - $10752 bedroom house (2) - $950 each2 bedroom house (1) - $8753 bedroom town homes (5) - $850Maintenance - 10% - $810 per monthVacancy - 5% - $405 per monthProperty Management - 7% - $567 per monthInsurance - $4500 per year - $375 per monthUtilities (water, trash) - $1000 per month (planning to use RUBS billing to tenants and hoping to recover 85%-- current water bills are around $200 per month (verified) and trash is $130 per month, but I am padding for increased number of people in all of the units - only one person lives in each unit currently)Landscaping - $500 per monthAdvertising - 1% - $67.50 per month (I have access to MLS, so this number shouldn't be too much)Misc Expenses - 10% - $810 per month (because I haven't had inspections yet and just don't know)Taxes - $8650 per year - $721 per monthNo mortgageClosing costs - $5000Purchase Price - $395,000Rehab (just a plan at this point, all units need cosmetic updating) - $50,000 in first yearSo, what am I missing here?

Bigger Pockets is a great launching pad for your Real Estate investing career!

I priced out mid-range carpet and pad from several local stores and I got a few phone quotes from local kickers and now I blanket average $2.25 a square yard.Do a search in your area for "Rehab Stores" or discount building materials.

Sometimes the Sellers pad the numbers so part of your financial due diligence is to verify that the amounts coming in and going out are correct.