I am sure 99% of people on BP are ethical - however, you never know and someone can swoop the deal from right under your nose.2) I think $160,000 is personally a little bit high for that property.3) Alot of the basements in Allentown built in that period are not ideal for another unit.You may be to fix it to add additional square footage; but not another unit.

Maybe you have a duty station where family lives or something that would be an ideal place to invest.

@Michael Le : yup, i agree. ideally i would like to go as large as i can go without being fiscally irresponsible and since i am a newbie to this, dont want to bite off more than i can chew.

An ideal agent would be someone who enjoys working with a first time home buyer, who has the heart of a teacher, and who is familiar with investing strategies.

@Mathew Scott It really depends, nothing wrong with leverage as long as it makes sense numbers wise.If you like the numbers when principal pay down is factored in, than the deal may work for you.

I want to learn how to truly analyze a deal and consider all factors, especially when the market is as hot as it is right now. 

Happy to recommend as well.Lastly, there are more factors than cost when purchasing insurance. 

If it's mom and pop I put higher vacancy factor into my underwriting whether 100% occupied or not.

Property condition is also obviously a factor. 

My question is if my mortgage on the property is say 350 and it's renting for 550 won't I technically be negatively cash-flowing due to the probability that the 40% cushion initially factored into the deal will probably cause me to have to put a small amount of money in monthly?