I thought I would contribute here and post my results so we have it as a record.Last month I sent out 750 small color postcards from yellowletters.com and received 5 responses, of the responses, 2 were folks that wanted to be removed from the list, 1 was a real estate agent that was calling as many investors as she could so they could compete for a house she was going to list, 1 was from someone who was unrealistic and 1 was from a good prospect.

That being said, allowed up to 20% for maintenance seems very cautious, unless there are a bunch of major ticket items that weren´t taken care of during rehab (i.e. roofs, air con units and electrical panels nearing the end of their lifespan).  5-8% for vacancies sounds fine for a competent property manager.We try to offer 8-9% net to investors purchasing our turnkey properties (usually in Pasco County), although the price ranges are in the $70-100k range and we make smaller vacancy and maintenance allowances than you do.At the end of the day, if you´re an out of state investor getting 6% for a property portfolio that requires little or no personal attention and you´re getting a capital gain, then things could be far worse. 

They tend to be extremely protectionist and not friendly to foreign investment when it comes to real estae (for instance, foreign investors pay a property tax surcharge) which can make it hard to put in compete against local investors.

Even though I'm not one of the 'experienced' yet I feel I'm at a level I can give competent advice to help others out because of BP.

., but at this juncture what's most important is finding someone who is competent, has an investor's perspective and I can vibe with.

Originally posted by @John Weidner:If the taxes go up the rents rise...all relative You are probably right, but can you compete with those that don't have a mortgage if you are an investor? 

Although...hopefully you aren't competing against other buyers who are small and are happy to manage themselves.  

If you want to be serious TK player - you obviously will have to do a lot of initial effort and investment until you become "established TK provider". 

When I started homeaway didn't exist ... vrbo was the "senior" player.  

You'd be surprised how long it takes to get good info on a property and a competent inspection done.