Ideally, it would be something that not only allows to register all the different expenses related to the property and mortgage, but would include the amortization of the mortgage so you can see on the same spreadsheet how much your equity is growing.Thanks

In terms of determining if a property is a decent deal, you might want to look at the potential for rent increases in those areas and compare that to your mortgage payments and expenses.

This thread is dedicated to sharing those expensive lessons or mistakes we've encountered in the world of real estate investing.The purpose here isn't to point fingers or bash each other for the decisions we've made.

in simple term:the sum amount of money in being circulation is always going to increase the residential real estate valuation as it has limited supply as hard asset and increased demand.rising amount of money is equal to higher inflation, but whether the dollar rising or not it depends on interest rate, whether it's higher againts its peer (if rate is higher then it causes more expensive dollar thus higher USD), and vice versa.in other word, the more inflation it is, the more expensive real estate would be.you can see the same characteristic in other country as well.

New modern lights and ceiling fans, quality furniture, Big screen TVs (not so expensive anymore), big washer and dryer, one of those cool refrigerators.If you ever go stay in a nice hotel or nice airbnbs, try to pick up on some of the things they do to make it feel luxurious. 

After expenses, it cashflows me around $350.

A good way to forecast rental demand is to also look at economic data from FRED - population growth over the past few years, median housing income, job growth, crime rate, schools, ethnicity mix, etc.

One rule helped here (I simplify a lot): you should always count how much money will be left in your pocket after all expenses (including mortgage payments, taxes, fees, utilities, as well as the reserve fund for the current repairs of the property).

When the portfolio generates above your take home salary from your job after expenses or? 

I would lose the monthly expense which I consider my return.