So long story short, I've been looking into buying a rental property.Found a property that looked promising but nowhere near 50/2 rule.Not really showing much of cash flow.If I apply 2% rule, then it should be significantly less than what seller wants.Sellers' argument is that expenses were higher last 2-3 yrs or so for repairs andthese are non-reoccurring expenses, like siding, windows and doors.Also rents are pretty low compare to the market.Should I pay more than what the 2% rule projects?

It would be difficult to monitor and stop anyone from seeing it before it's ready.

As far as local goes, i have been monitoring craigslist and the closest place to me (3 hours) that i have been seeing any "we buy houses" ads are in little rock. i have two other target areas about 45 mins from me and i don't see any of those ads for these areas.

I used orkin Sentricon Bait and Monitoring systems that works great.

Most likely I'll have the PM monitor the duplicate bills to see that they are kept up with, and try to collect when not paid, because I don't want to get stuck paying them when the tenants ignore it.Is it grounds for eviction when the lease stipulates that tenants are responsible for paying utilities?

Money is made by wholesaling houses, that is how I started out and the fast cash helped, but real estate is a long term game so building a well rounded business with rental properties(long term reoccurring income) and flips/wholesales(short term money makers) is the way to build wealth.

Then can't I get a mold monitor to see if my mold interventions worked or not? 

You can show them that "X kWh" is included in the rent but be clear that they are liable for any overage with the utility.More accurately you can monitor their usage and charge them a rate per kWh as a "utility" yourself.

Section 8 rules aren't anything crazy things like no exposed wires, reset buttons on outlets in kitchen and bath, carbon monoxide/smoke monitors, windows in working order etc.

We monitor all their "auctions" in our target areas and bid on hubzu auctions almost weekly. just be aware they are not really auctions, they are auction format marketing tool for the banks.