I own a duplex in Clermont, FL just outside of Orlando and initially wanted to split water meters between the two units, but the cost and amount of work were higher than expected.

@Jenna ChenHouse hacking a value-add duplex in Atlanta is a smart strategy to build equity while keeping living costs low.

The cleaning costs alone were over $9k.

Turbotax isn't going to educate you so unless you'd like to educate yourself and potentially make some costly pitfalls, then I'd outsource.

Our goal is to be able to use either some type of software or spreadsheets to continue to build off of and help dial in our costs as we begin to hire more contractors for our team.

As you are finding out, it is so local that the next door building effects your investment. 

@Matt Smith generally speaking it’s a combination of rising interest rates which have caused cap rates to increase (thus wiping out equity), debt is resetting at higher rates, rising opex costs due to inflation and stagnant or softening of rents due to an increase of supply.

...And what the buy-in cost is?

Firstly, you can save costs by paying your VAs directly.

There are also additional costs of operating and maintaining an LLC, like separate bank accounts, annual report filings, tax filings, etc.2.