I wouldn't buy a negative cash flow property as a newbie.  

Cons: bedroom is very small (will fit a queen bed, but not a king), no dishwasher or laundry.I never had trouble renting it (it really was a cute place) but putting the negatives in the ad helped cut down on useless showings.

I think the benefits far out weight the down side..the amount of deals I get yearly from fellow agents that know I am in the bizz far out weight any negative.

You definitely don't want to go negative CF in exchange for appreciation. 

Unless it's $1200, you won't cover vacancies, repairs, etc. and it will be cash flow negative.

This versus the warmer climate states we are getting 8 plus caps with median income of 100,000 or higher with strong growth and with 25% down have cash on cash around 14% non-recourse 10 year term loan with 30 year amort.Lenders like to see at least 50,000 population in  a 5 mile radius and not a negative population growth trend.

There are negatives to this approach (mainly living next door to tenants), but works for many.

I'm familiar with statistics and the issue is that there are never enough in a sample size to pin point a particular property for a valid assumption, every parcel or dirt and every building is unique, something that is difficult to grasp by those who view RE as a widget.

Michael, we did not have a lot of negative surprises on this one.  

It's not the best investment per se, as the cash flow is negative, but we had to get a bigger place with a baby on the way, and it's underwater so we couldn't sell.