Appreciation, in particular, is crucial, while cash flow acts as the fuel to keep the property sustainable.Your Scenario with 2% Home AppreciationHere’s how the deal looks using your assumptions:Year 1 Analysis Cash Flow: -$1,123 Initial Equity: $51,000 (assuming a $249k purchase on a $300k market value as per your report).

@Jordyn Ohs Suggest you run a financial model and assume 100% vacancy.

Assuming the place is in good shape, there isn't that much management.5.

Quote from @Jaycee Greene: Assuming you pay asking price, I'd estimate the down payment for something like that using a hard money loan (HML) would be around 40% of the purchase price and your monthly payment would be $2,600 with an interest rate in the low 7% range (probably need a 700+ credit score to get that).

Some of the materials we choose and asked him to pick up (such as flooring) he replaced with low quality materials, I assume to keep more of our money for himself. 

Alternatively, if the bank ( assuming there is a bank) is fine with it, you could negotiate a credit and escrow the funds to be released after you do it yourself.  

Assuming property taxes + insurance added don't go above $1,100 total, you could maybe make this work. 

Which I'm assuming is similar to fortune builders where you are shelling out 20-40K for guidance.

Quote from @Leo Gregoire: I'm assuming you werent taking 15% of gross off the top for cap ex, vacancy, and maintenance? 

Let’s assume I could buy between 800k - 1.5 million.