It is the difference between buying in a low market versus buying in a high market. 

If residential and you want to cater to investors versus regular homeowners than you need to find a firm that has a principal broker that mainly focuses on investing.

Since the competition is so intense my partner and I have to be willing to provide a much better level of service to our prospective leads versus the big guys.

Your operational model for cash versus leveraging is the same, except regarding the financing. 

As long as you practice value-add investing, chances are that you will be more insulated from market downturns versus a traditional investor.

I'm purposefully not accounting for every possible liability but calculating gross profit (not net profit) based on a somewhat generalized calculation as a means of comparing an HML strategy versus a home investment strategy to help determine which is more (or less) profitable.

So you’re staying home equity line of credit versus commercial loan?

Numbers change more drastically with vacancy for SFR versus multi-units.

Be sure to have your tenant screening process in place and a rental application ready to go so that if you get your perfect candidate, that process can be engaged sooner versus later.Again, congrats...I'm betting it will be the first of many to follow.  

If they have a grand fathered policy with the old / lower rates you may be to assume their policy and the lower rate versus getting a new one.If the current owner does not have a flood policy ask why?