I've listened to the inspector and done observations on enough properties at this time that I know what to look for, but use the professional as he has over 35 years experience and will catch things I am not aware of or confirm my thinking which is also helpful for the future.I've also used plenty of contractors that I know in general what rehab items cost, but there may be new things I am unsure of that could pop up in the future.

@Ian TurnerJust a few observations.....Typically the town you are describing is one that I would stay away from investing in ( very rural and employment depends on one company).

My parents were landlords (SFRs and a fourplex) when I was growing up, so I observed it throughout my youth - and painted more than my share of rentals.

And that was for the news crew to observe of course - more "made for TV".

Interesting observation, I think agents use the term as a marketing ploy simply toget your attention.

I do not have any exact numbers but when I am in that area I have observed consistent expansion of the housing, retail and highway infrastructures.

No rant... just an acurate observation about the challenging state of affairs in our "capitalistic" economy.

Great observation, as I had this same problem today in the Local Forums

I’m sure that was an experience in itself, and while it surely won’t make up for the sting of $ flowing the wrong way, I’m sure there will be lessons learned here that can’t be learned without doing.A couple observations: $100 in pro forma cash flow is more than adequate  on a 70k house.  

Some landlords are horrible and paint a bad picture as well and since people don't scream from the rooftops they have the #1 landlord who is the fairest, best priced, and an all around great person, these bad ones are the landlords that get highlighted.