2) I bet you could draw that same or even more extreme graph for new car prices.

. - Taxes are on the higher side at $6,000 yearMy Numbers: $115,000 putting 20% of my money $23,000 and finance the rest with total expense of $1,834Monthly expense numbers: Future Maintenance 13% $273 - Vacancy 5% $105 - Property Insurance 5% $105 - Property Taxes 23% $500 - Property management 10% $215 - Office/Travel/Legal 4% $84 - Mortgage 26% $552 - Monthly Cash Flow - $316 per month or $3,792 per year so Cash on Cash = 17%I think this looks like it is a deal worth doing and I also believe I can bump the total rent up by $50 each tenant which I think make it even better.

Even with renovation costs and insurance costs the fix n flips are still making money.  

Even for LTR. 

The price points do make it hard to cash flow even with the lower interest rate subject tos. 

They even sent someone from the city to the house to tell us to stop operating it as a STR. 

I would even call those agents and see if they know the finishes that were put into the property, if not ask if they can setup a call with that investor to see what they put in..

For someone new to real estate investing that wants to do long term rentals, do you recommend starting off in an area close to them/an area they're familiar with or someplace that will give them the best return even if it's out of state. 2.

Though, my main goal is to be break-even or close to it in cash flow once a property manager steps in to take over. 

I got so lucky - the first 3 years, during the depths of the pandemic, I had a perfect tenant, no problems, even during the storms.