[i]Purchase price: $300k (Can be purchased for this amount)Appraisal price: $470k (Currently on Zillow)Sold in '07 for: $500k (From NJ tax information)Current comps: $450-475kMonthly Rent: $3200Monthly Mortgage: $2400 (Including all taxes/insurance)[/i]I've been doing some homework on BP regarding ratios and percentages.

Keep in mind - that post is purely hypothetical and designed to teach the math.

So IF you are going FHA, your math might look like:Cashflow = $2,370 x 0.64 - $852 ($702 + $150 for PMI) = $664.80

Simple math is: worth $55k - $25k in foundation means at most it's worth $30k before you fix all the cracks that are going to appear after the fix the foundation so maybe another $5k for that.

Also, as a disclaimer It is quite possible that my math and calculations are all wrong but please bear with me.

When doing due diligence on the property and you want to have as much information about the property as you possibly can get without incurring costs, what would you look for? Property taxes, housing violations, water ...

I did the math, and 10% mng fee and no leasing fees comes down to the same out of pocket losses for the owner as 7% mng fee and 350$ leasing fee.Definitely, my future goals are to purchase multi-family units in MY AREA where I live so I can control the process better.

Like I said above, if you're considering buying in an HOA community, do your homework, ask questions, and make sure you have a contingency in your purchase offer that states "upon satisfactory acceptance of the CC&R's" since most Realtors and agents never seem to know what's in them, probably because they were never given or requested a copy.

I'd advise you to take it slow and do your homework before you invest your $14k.Get some buyers lined up (starting with the contact info from your last buyer, and ask him if he's still looking).

So, I'd figure it something like this:Expenses: $760 (40% of gross scheduled rent)Excess vacancy: $950 (the unit you occupy)NOI: $190Payments as above: $933So, its going to cost you, on average, $743 a month to live there.Be sure to read the sticky thread in the Rental Property forum about the duplex owner who's being terrorized by her tenant to the point where she can't occupy her unit.As far as your PMI question, just do the math.