.$324,000 Total CostHolding Numbers:$2,100 Principle Interest Taxes Insurance$1,900 Rent from 4-bedroom SFH (with 7% vacancy this drops to $1,767)$1,300 Rent from myself in renovated 2-bedroom Carriage house$967 Profit with 7% vacancy on the 4-bedroom rentalThe garage could potentially rent for $300-800, but I'm not factoring it in because I'm not sure of how legal that is.This is my first purchase.

http://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/4178/blog_posts/33328-wondering-what-its-like-to-search-for-properties-take-a-look-hereIn fact, here are a few more of my posts that may help you..http://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/4178/blog_posts/30227-fact-or-opinion-which-is-the-best-information-to-give-a-fellow-investorhttp://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/4178/blog_posts/33000-my-favorite-quote-to-datehttp://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/4178/blog_posts/29349-arv-calculatinghttp://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/4178/blog_posts/30113-how-to-qualify-as-a-landlordhttp://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/4178/blog_posts/28728-property-searching-tipAgain, not trying to be an ***.

Even if the place is new, you must factor in repairs in case a renter destroys the place or something else happens that maybe insurance can't cover.

All these factors can eat into your cash flow and ROI.You as the investor also have to think about what your want in terms of monthly cash flow and how quickly you want to make your initial investment back.

@Matt Devincenzo I don't disagree with you.However, after some personal conversations with the presenter, knowledge of her background, and some other factors, I trust her when she says she's had at length conversations with TREC Legal who interprets it a different way and inserted it into the code for that specific reason.Also, this is just how you're suppose to do things.

There was always some other factor in play.No, I don't do that now.

@Florence Oxenham, In light of a recent California Supreme Court ruling admitting an ILLEGAL immigrant to the California bar to practice law, I suspect the same will have to be true for all other state licensed professionals and immigration status should no longer be a factor... http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/03/us/immigrant-in-us-illegally-may-practice-law-california-court-rules.html?

So the property owner must make sure they are aware of & are complying with all regulations related to their vacation rental property.It sounds like your neighbor did not conduct adequate research before offering their property for rent on the short-term market or else there were other factors involved which allowed the City to shut down the practice in your neighborhood.

A few other factors are that this is currently a pretty sub-suburban, small town but a TV news report on the local Houston news last night just said it is expected to add about 130,000 people in the next few years!

A big factor is the area that you will be investing in, but if I were you I would start with multi-family's and migrate to SFR's down the road.