Long story short I started a new job, in March, in the process of all of this and was sent to Africa for 2 months, unexpectedly, and sat holding the property until Oct 1st, 2016.

However, I have kept people on 1 year leases so if they leave unexpectedly at least I get to keep their full security deposit.

I say all these things, not to scare you, but to be sure you are prepared for the unexpected.

I have an emergency savings for 1 of my properties that will cover at least 3 months of vacancy and about 3k for unexpected repairs. it seems easier to to have a savings set up instead of allocating a % from the rental income each month. is this a no No?

Do not let yourself walk into anything without planning for stuff that is unexpected, especially in an older building. 

Like others, I'd look for scratch and dents, etc. or go to the outlet and look for the floor model.  

Then you could come back and see if they will pay you money to help find a new place/move & break the lease.Might be able to get a few grand AND find a better landlord.If these goobers are unethical enough to send you a demand letter vs coming to you to see if you would be willing to move.They want you out, let em pay you.

I want to be as prepared as possible before I make this first step and want to make sure I have enough money in the bank to cover any unexpected costs or emergencies that you wouldn't have if you were renting.Thanks in advance,Max Butler

Don't let the simplicity fool you - there were a ton of inspections, unexpected crises related to financing and issues with the houses's condition that came up along the way.

This wasn’t unexpected as I felt our price point was slightly high for the market, but it was still somewhat of a bummer.