The illiquid nature of real estate investing means a slow sale at high cost.

However, this metric varies based on individual investment goals, market conditions, and property types.

Do I simply jump in with a rental that would (based on the calculator here) give me a 16.56% CoC ROI and move forward from there?

@Joshua Randall, I would say there is an underlying knowledge base needed to properly assess and manage contractors.  

You might have wonderful memories of grandma’s house and know it’s incredibly safe based on fond memories of playing cops and robbers with your friends at night, but guests have their own point of view.

I know the value of shovel ready properties will vary greatly based on current market conditions, location, etc.

I want to know who's responsible for this repair based on my lease.

I would even obtain a COFI arm permanent loan where the payments were based on an interest rate lower than what the market rates were.

This leaves friends/relatives wanting to help you out (emotional based investing) or people unsophisticated and naive (likely disciples of a currently heavily promoted guru).When I, or any other investors (with significant capital) I know of invest, either equity or debt), we only consider deals where (1) the “sponsor”, or borrower have a significant investment of their own capital, unless they’ve owned the property many years.  

I based this off of the number of new construction homes in state, how much vacant land, how much those things are selling and their availability, laws, among other things.