Yes you don't eat a mortgage, but you will have costs such as keeping the heat on in the dead of winter to prevent pipes from freezing, insurance, etc. you want to be conservative with the numbers to give you worst case scenario. how are you looking with capital expenditures?

Excellent location on a park in a downtown.Asking price - $390KCurrent Rents: $3675/month (could easily be brought up to $4875 with almost no investment) Expenses Monthly Taxes $ 663.25 Insurance $ 208.33 Water $ 291.67 Heat $ - Electric $ - Plowing/lawn $ - Trash $ 100.00 Prop Management (10%) $ 487.50 Repairs (5%) $ 243.75 Vacancy (5%) $ 243.75 CapEx (10%) $ 487.50  TOTAL $2,725.75 I'm optimistic that I can get the property for $300K.

We will be upgrading the heating to separately metered natural gas furnaces.

You need to know the condition of the plumbing, heating system, foundation, roof etc. 

Well come to find Mr. homeowner is nailing up blankets in living room and claims heat and power turned off.  

And that's usually our government, who the majority of the populous voted for.And rest assured, this problem is just beginning to heat up - not just in America.

The owner pays the water and heat.

I live in Maine and the heating costs are brutal, regardless of who pays, so a small, insulated home makes a ton of sense.

Just concerned about how to get central heat/air in the  basement. 

I comment that being 2 hours from the city & paying $400k for a starter home with 3% property tax & Texas heat isn’t worth it!