The biggest things for our energy bills are: how many ac units are on the house and do you have a hot tub.

Your biggest issue is that $50k may not let you get a nice house and have any reserves.

I'm also concerned older homes have already seen their biggest jump in capital appreciation and don't have as much potential for price growth compared to newer homes.What are your thoughts on older homes?

Not sure how many PMCs you've had bad experiences with, but we'll take exception to:"Then do a thorough research on tenant applicants (note: leaving this to a PM may be hazardous to your financial health)".BP seems to have more threads about screening mistakes by DIY landlords as opposed to PMCs.Now, if you'd have mentioned Maintenance, you'd get no argument from me:) Even the PMC industry acknowledges maintenance as one of the biggest challenges.Rereading my post, I kinda see how I sounded negative toward PMs.  

Lastly, what’s been the biggest surprise about being a landlord so far?

That's one of our biggest risks it seems, however, ND is more friendly than the MN side.  

My biggest concern is the basement.

•For example, a listing with three price drops and 180 days on the market would be weighted less than one with 30 contacts, no price drops, and a quick removal after 30 days.3.Open Data:•Provide direct access to each comp’s details: price history, leasing schedules, photos, and even links to the original listing sites—all without leaving the platform.These three issues have been my biggest frustrations with current tools, and I’m building this out for internal use in my market.My questions to you:•Is this something you would want to see in your market?

My biggest road block right now is finding a PM company.

If I'm mentally and emotionally all-in on the incoming administration and think the economy is going to be amazing, best economy with the biggest hands ever, etc etc, then I can do better than gov't bonds, given the emotions I am experiencing.