Clearly my expenses for the wooden siding maintenance will be higher than brick as will need to repaint and touch up every 5 years or less, and the service for the window units will likely be less (especially since my lease states the tenants are responsible for them along with appliance repairs under $150 for that rental) along with them being cheap to replace and fairly serviceable.You have to look at each component of a given property and estimate the maintenance for it based on what you know, what you have seen as best practice here, ways you can minimize or avoid the expense, and based on quotes that you get from contractors as part of your diligence period.  

My experience is minimal, though my father has been involved in buying, holding and renting real estate for over 20 years now and has taught me a great deal. 

I meant what I said earlier about purchasing the home for as minimal as possible.

it was a major waste if time. 

At the end of the day the investor is looking to achieve maximum profits with minimal risk..., that is where that $10 comes into play. 

Number 1 its a tax right off, number 2 if I send out a house and someone responds I always make them show me via or fax proof of funds that they are a qualified cash buyer before I go wasting their time, mine and the sellers. 

I don't waste my time with them any longer.  

I am not a huge fan of garden apartments but this building is built out to have a legal basement with very good access and ceiling height so hate to waste that value add if we can contest or file a few documents and get a legal 4th unit.  

I would try to minimize the size of the common areas as much as possible (within reason).

You'd want some kind of commitment (or skin in the game) so that you knew you weren't wasting your time on someone who had no intentions in buying your house.As an investor, it's dependent.