Your buyer will trump any formula you use.

Then its too late.If you read some of the discussion here about rental property expenses, and apply those formulas to rents and prices where you live, you may discover there's no way landlords can be making money.

Sometimes the millage is different for land and improvements (buildings) so the formula is a little more involved but still simple.Trash - is it city or can a service be purchased?

Looking back, Real Estate was not my first choice since at the time I was focused on motorsports, mainly Formula 1.

Can you guys recommend any brokers in Houston, and what formulas, spreadsheets, or software (if any) you are using to evaluate potential deals?

The formula for net qualifying income once the tax return is filed is made to seem complicated however in essence it is the monthly average net operating income(NOI) based on tax return minus monthly debt service payment.

Does anyone use a formula for that?

The above formula is conservative and has worked for me.

I think you messed up in your formula saying 456 is your deduction, looks like your net income after paying expenses from the gross rental income, which is what your taxable income will be.

The easy formula most investors use is ARV * 70% - repairs = your offer price.