@Rick Golden get the specifics on the numbers, figure in PM, capex, vacancy, repair, etc and if the numbers work for you then do it.

@Chris RandInvestors who have rental properties report their rental activities on schedule E.You report rental income less expenses(insurance, utilities, repairs, mortgage interest, real estate taxes, depreciation etc).The great thing about real estate is that you may have a cash-flow positive business but report a taxable loss thanks to depreciation.The difference between cash-flow and taxable rental income is that depreciation is factored into taxable rental income and principal payments are not a tax deduction.generally speaking cash flow - depreciation + principal payments = taxable rental income

It takes a lot of practice, a lot of not responding right off the cuff when you have to deal with junk, but it does pay well if you can gain the respect of your tenants, and take care of their repairs whenever they call. 

Small home repairs and late night phone calls are a minute part of land-lording, there are also a lot of legal aspects involved. - City rental certifications can be required- There is certain paperwork that you need to give someone at the time of signing a lease with them (lead based paint       disclosure and pamphlet, inventory checklist, etc...)- If someone stops paying rent you may need to go through an eviction process- When screening tenants you need to do a thorough check of who you're renting to- There are several Fair Housing laws you need to be aware of when placing a tenantOften times, a PM company will even be able to cover their own cost by receiving the highest rental amount possible for your investment, most likely higher than you could by yourself due to the exposure and avenues they have for marketing.

It cash flows at $650 a month and yes that is with 25% set aside for cap-ex, repair, and vacancy.

The HIGH cost of repairs, turnovers, vacancy was killing my cash flow and starting to erode my faith in buy/hold investing.   

My best guess walking around was that it needed some fairly moderate repairs.

My goal is to buy them with conventional financing, repair them to be rent ready (ideally less than 10K in repairs), and hire a property manager to rent them out.

Don't depend solely on their repair estimates, actually have your guy or yourself walk the property to get a solid number.

He was always doing UN-authorized repairs and then asking me to at least pay for materials.I put the 3 day notice and filed for eviction today.