This is most applicable for growth of a portfolio, not avoiding cap-x. 

We also run numbers to avoid lost money on blindly paying for an appraisal to find out its a dead deal or of no benefit.

This might be typical in your market, but it’s worth confirming to avoid unexpected costs.

Trying to avoid borrowing as much as possible.

Besides the price point, there would certainly be a time savings aspect too (and we all know time is money).  

A good rule of thumb is to have at least $5 to $10K in reserves per unit to cover these situations and avoid financial strain.Thank you for the reply and help!

When you’re confident in your numbers, you can negotiate with clarity and avoid being swayed by emotions.Understand the Other Party’s MotivationEvery seller has a reason for selling.

If you have an older home that requires a lot of maintenance, you probably want to avoid the manager who charges a markup.I recommend shopping around occasionally to see if your PM is procuring fair pricing or just marking you up to make money without justification.As for expectations, you need to read the PM agreement and understand what is charged and why.

A well written management contract should clearly spell out what is expected of both the PMC and the owner, to PROTECT both and avoid misunderstandings.

Either way, thanks for posting so others can avoid this.