If you’re looking at retrofitting to separate heating for each unit (like furnaces or mini-splits), you might be looking at a higher upfront cost, but it can shift utility expenses to tenants and improve your NOI.I’d factor in boiler age and efficiency when analyzing deals and if it’s near the end of its life, negotiate a price reduction or a credit.

Good afternoon,Could anyone help me to estimate my monthly expenses if I rent out my single-family house in Sutton, MA?

I was talking to a RE friend.He said it's a bad time to buy* rates are high* homes are expensive in most marketsLooking to hear some counterpoints. 

You can surely buy cheaper properties and obtain the same debt pay-down, but now you've got 5x the head-ache, so right asset class is more about efficiency when it comes to debt pay-down.Tax shielding is similar concept in that more expensive properties directionally give you more building basis to depreciate, which means less net income to tax.

As far as studios go, 280K is a low price, but without knowing the expenses and the rent you can expect there, its tough to say if the deal is good or not.

"The only red flag that stood out is that she strongly discourages flying out to the location and scoping out the property as she said it could get expensive and we could instead use that for a downpayment."

You track all of your expenses the same way irrespective of profitability. 

Insurance is expensive, there is a lot of extra maintenance like painting or electric in common areas that don't apply as much with smaller units. 

Another draw back is short term your expenses will be higher because you are paying the mortgage plus paying back the loan but that is a short term draw back until the loan is paid back.How it works: I have experience with my wife's company and mine, each is a little different. 

In my experience, the good ones are expensive, typically require a subscription, and sometimes they even do a physical inspection of your premises to verify it is a legitimate person / business in US.