However, it has no upgrades and nothing has been regularly maintained.

There are obviously costs involved with obtaining and maintaining a license to consider as well, but one successful transaction could easily cover your expenses for the year.Your upfront costs would be:- Classes / materials to cover the education requirement- Testing and finger-printing fees (for the actual licensing exam and background check)**You will need to be sponsored by a broker in order to have an active salesperson license, so you'll need to figure out this piece as wellYour ongoing costs will include:- NAR (National Association of Realtors) dues- TAR (Texas Association of Realtors) dues- HAR (Houston Association of Realtors) dues- MLS access fees (assessed quarterly)Again, most of the answer(s) to your question really depend on what type of investing you're looking to do.

I know I'm not planning to sell anytime soon but we can't predict the future so I still factor in the ease of liquidation.I also find that the amount of work that I have to put in buying and maintaining a 4 plex is pretty much the same as a 14 plex.

As long as you're polite, as the owner, you're doing your part in keeping the property clean, safe and maintained, tenants should do their part and at a minimum, comply with very reasonable requests.

One of the best ideas I've collected when it comes to lawn care is for you to recruit your neighbors, hire a landscaping company, and work a group discount + management fee so that you're properties are maintained at no cost to you.

Please correct me if I am wrong.I agree that money should always be allocated towards the best choice for maintaining or increasing its value.

The access road/driveway and everything inside the gated community are maintained and completely funded by our own, solely by using the cash from the collected HOA dues, we don't accept public money. 2. that our country's law does not permit the HOA to put lien or foreclose the houses that are behind with their HOA payments.

The point of the entity is to protect your personal assets, which one properly maintained, arms length LLC will do.

Even the resale value would be suspect for me because the tenants would likely damage it or fail to maintain it properly.

Clean and maintained should be your expectation, whatever's cheapest and durable should be your "taste level". :) I would get the best looking but cheapest and sturdiest flooring I could find that works with your subfloor.