My partner and I are looking at one in Houston with the expenses and deductions totaling ~45% of the gross potential rent of the property:That includes 10% for vacancy allowance15% for planned and unplanned maintenance (lawn, CAM, repair allowance)7% for property management12% for Taxes and InsurancePosted deals often excluded expenses, so I want to ask the BP community for wisdom.Questions: To the experienced eye out there, how does those expense %’s look?

@Jeremy TaggartI'm at CMU, so we'd like to be nearby, but Squirrel Hill and Oakland tend to be a little out of our price range.

I'm not asking for free help, I'm willing to add value by means of doing leg work, office work, phone calls, what have ya, but I have a little $$ squirrelled away, about enough for a downpayment or small reno budget, and am looking to partner with an experienced investor to show me the ropes while we pursure and complete a deal together in 2018.

It is very difficult with all the different ideas, methods, and stuff on BP to not SQUIRREL!

And, as much as HOA's can be a pain, they do keep an eye on things so if your tenants are doing something they shouldn't be you will likely find out about it, where in a SFR you may never find out.In general a lot of people don't like HOA's or CC&R's (I get it), or the possibility of unplanned special assessments (I get that too), but a certain percentage of the HOA dues you would have to pay in a SFR anyway (landscaping, painting, repairs and maintenance, insurance for the outside, pool/spa, gates, etc). 

Any sign of squirrels?

SQUIRREL!

I think that is worth it because monthly complaints from tenants that want to move out because of a recurring pest problem will cost you way more than $200.I dealt with squirrels in the attic for $10 and ants for another $10 using the food bait/traps that they take back to their colony.

It's too simple and tells you NOTHING about the future... which by the way, even a Squirrel knows about the future since he has to put his Nuts away for the winter or he may starve.So, we really ALL... that means all the readers of this posts and everyone on BP and every Investor whether or not you are a RE Investor or Stock Investor..... learn IRR.

MS don't fool around.. they picked him up on Friday night ( you know on purpose) so he had to sit in the cooler until Monday when the judge got in to set bail.But every state is different on how they handle this stuff.in the list I gave you I have funded wholesalers and flippers in all those cities Save NY ... every other one I have funded in... along with half a dozen more cities not mentioned that are too tough to wholesale in in the first place like CA..wholesaling is a very very tough gig.. and not a starter strategy.. the guys I know that are successful have big business's with huge budgets to make this work.. its not a hey I have no money I am going to wholesale and get money to buy and hold.. can that work . sure a blind squirrel finds an acorn.. but to really make any money at it .. its a full blown business.. with all the things you need in a mature business enterprise.. staff  capital... experience and UBER sales skills.