Personally I use 10% for vacancy, maintenance, CAPEX (capital expenditure - new roof, hot water heater, a/c, furnace, etc...), and then 12% for property management.Go to www.rentometer.com and you can see how your current rent fairs with the rest of your market.

The new investment earns $24,000 a year, but the cost of the mortgage + the equity loan will be $22,332—and that’s before you account for taxes, insurance, maintenance, capital expenditures, vacancies, etc.

Any such expenditures would count toward that investors contribution to do the split calculation above.

Price 179,00Down payment: 10%Interest: Principal onlyGross monthly income: $1,500Loan terms: 30 yearsClosing cost: $4,000Property tax: $90/monthHomeowner insurance: $70/monthVacancy: 5%Repair maintenance: 5%Management fee: 5%Capital expenditures: 5%

It would be great to save yourself the expenditure and hassle of booking at peak season when you already own an apartment in your favorite holiday destination.

If it were a house, you would still have to account for long term capital expenditures.

Is this some kind of scam like I buy the land and then I get socked with a bunch of back taxes and fines and penalties or something, or it's Indian burial land and I'm forced to build a 5-star cemetery on it, and I can't get out of it? 

I believe this will will make for a solid 2015 for everyone I work with.I'm also considering selling my primary residence to pay off my HELOC, free up a ton of more capital to invest with, and reduce my monthly expenditures significantly.

As for purchasing an existing national-credit Self Storage facility in today's market, returns are simply too skinny to make it worthwhile for the average investor, in my opinion.On the other hand, with detailed site analysis and selection, RV and boat storage can still provide an excellent return with very little Capital Expenditure to get started (aside from the land itself.)

I am able to evaluate the overall condition of a property as well as accurately budget for repairs and capital expenditures.