Because, in the end, your property manager acts as a bit of all of these; plus we handle legal and financial accounting matters that require a high degree of experience and skill.

@Joel Owens Thanks for a different perspective.The extent of my jobs vary depending on the exit strategy and the condition of what I walk into.Holds are usually interior updates with basic finishes throughout - paint, floors, fixtures and new mechanicals if needed, otherwise I just have the mechanicals inspected and tuned up.

Zillow is ok at best, but at times there are so many varying values stacked on top of each other in a given neighborhood, I begin to doubt the information.

Shareholders must receive at least 90% of a REIT's taxable income in the form of dividends each year.Performance varies widely.

Building up a real estate empire is a fantastic idea in theory, but in practice unless you're incredibly lucky, you'll be better off putting it in some sort of truly passive investment, like Redfin stock.I believe MOST people here do not realize how problematic real estate investing can be, the degree to which luck plays, how little is truly within one's control, and how inefficient and illiquid the real estate market is. 

Everything else is estimates, prepaids, and cost of other things that you can shop around yourself but regulartly don't vary much in price.$1600 seems pretty normal to me for how big of a loan you are getting.

I know answers will vary and a lot could depend on a number of variables but I wanted to get your thoughts.I recently purchase 5 acres of land for $65k.

I read an article that from homelight.com which included this excerpt: *The actual percentage will vary based on the specifics of your situation.

@Thomas Hickey unlikely, but it really varies by municipality and situation.

Flipping the "tough" neighborhoods requires some degree of toughness.