The way banks see buildings expenses on 4 plexes and lower here is pretty simple and it's surprising how accurate and general it is.Expenses: your insurance, your taxes and heating/electricity + 15% of rents operating cost (sums up snow removal, maintenance, vacancy, marketing pretty well in most major cities).

In NY anyone wanting to move in when it snows? 

I also do  all the maintenance aside from snow removal.

We will be changing out of our flip-flops here in the desert in favor of winter boots as we get started with our new venture in the snows of November or December.We have been married and in full time church ministry for about 25 years, and have always had some sort of real estate project or involvement on the side... - I worked in the finance industry (banking, accounting, & facilitating 1031 exchanges) - He designed and/or helped build a couple churches - We had a rental property for a few years- We built a log home with our own two hands, chainsawing the doors and windows out of the logs we stacked -- He did the plumbing and I did the electrical, so our joke was that when you flipped the light switch the toilet flushed :) - We've usually lived in a bit of a fixer-upper that we could add some value toOur goals are to flip 4 houses a year in the beginning, doing all cash deals, and then begin to hold some properties as rentals in a few years.I feel intimidated when I listen to the podcasts because I don't have the ability to analyze all the options like the hosts and guests do!

The $576 for cash flow doesn't include all of your expenses so it's actually lower when you factor in any owner paid utilities IF you have them, snow removal/landscaping, vacancy/credit loss, property management if you are not self managing, maintenance, etc.I like your strategy for renovating and doing a cash out refi.

I haven't seen a 2% rule anywhere realistic and have been assuming that to be 1% ages now.Just for giggles, I analyzed thispropertyhttp://www.trulia.com/property/3229148553-1-Quimby...renthttps://www.rentometer.com/results/tt_kOY8yPiIAnalysis Acquisition Cost Breakdown Purchase Price $150,000 Downpayment $30,000 Finance Amount $120,000 Improvements $7,000 Closing Costs $4,500 Total Cost $161,500 Cash Outlay $41,500 Financing Details Downpayment 20.00% Interest Rate % (anual) 4.50% Closing cost % 3.00% Loan Period (years) 30 Monthly Mortage Payments $608 Monthly Annual Monthly Annual Revenues conservative optimistic Gross Scheduled Income 1,200 $14,400 $1,500 $18,000 Vacancy Rate (% Rent) 10.00% 120 $1,440 8.30% $125 $1,494 Net Scheduled Income 1,080 $12,960 $1,376 $16,506 Other Income 0 $0 $0 $0 Gross Operating Income 1,080 $12,960 $1,376 $16,506 Operating Expenses Propperty Taxes (annual) $148 $1,776 $148 $1,776 Insurance (annual) $37 $444 $37 $444 Property Mgmt (% Rent) 10.00% $120 $1,440 8.00% $120 $1,440 Repairs (annual) 10.00% $120 $1,440 5.00% $75 $900 CapEx (annual) 5.00% $60 $720 2.50% $38 $450 HOA (annual) $0 $0 $0 $0 Utilities (annual) $0 $0 $0 $0 Landscaping/snow (monthly) $0 $0 $0 $0 Other 1 (annual) $0 $0 $0 $0 Other 2 (monthly) $0 $0 $0 $0 Total Operating Expenses $485 $5,820 $418 $5,010 con opt 1% rule 0.80% 1.00% 50% rule 44.91% 30.35% NOI $7,140 $11,496 Cash Flow annual -$156 $4,200 Cash Flow monthly -$13 $350 Cap Rate 5% 8% CoC 0% 10% Not to say that I would touch this property as it doesn't cash flow with my conservative criteria, but both conservative and optimistic criteria are showing this falling within the 50% rule and under the optimistic scenario (which isn't complete fantasy) the place cash flows.

All yard maintenance is included in HOA to include shrubbery / tree trimming, snow removal, mulching etc.It's a 4 Bed, 3 Bath unit, no garage just a parking slab (common for area), built in 2007, fully furnished, ask in $269.9K.  

Wouldn't they all be under snow right now and frozen?

The highway travel time can be highly variable due to rain and snow events or ice on the road (we use sand, not salt on the roads here).

Snow removal, Vacancy, Turnover cost, Capital expense reserves