You can listen to all the quarterly conference calls of a REIT, read all the quarterly and annual reports, and you'll still have the smallest fraction of an idea as to what's going on when compared to what's happening in your own portfolio of directly-owned properties.MG

For example I have a phone script; a negotiations script; a checklist to prepare for my appointment to view the house; a checklist to estimate rehab costs that I bring with me to my appointments; and comparable analysis sheet to share with the owner.

You can substitute experience for market knowledge by spouting off a bunch of accurate data about absorption rates, comparable sales in a neighborhood, finish levels of renovations, etc. 

Also check with a CPA, I'm not sure you're allowed to depreciate a property that isn't rented, maybe they have a work around.So you're comparing only projected capital gain on a property (including it's holding costs for utilities, insurance, taxes and repairs) vs the state fund. 

Also, it’s easy to tell potential tenants they pay all utilities, when comparing to other places it’s not a noticeable difference in my eyes.

@Sam Das check our Duane Gomer.com and compare to other sites you are looking at.

My goal is to generate cashflow and accumulate more properties.Need some advice comparing these two investment opportunities and some opinions:Duplex: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2214-Thompson-D...Quadplex:https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/903-Windwood-Dr...Opinions?   

I don't have much experience in the syndication sphere, but if I were to compare to my guess on the makeup of the average REIA meetup:75% have never done a deal, even if they've been attending the meetups for years25% have done one or two deals5% have done more than 2 dealsSo just doing a few deals puts you at the top end of things, and there are generally just a few at each meetup who thoroughly know what they are doing.I'd imagine the multifamily sphere is much the same, since this breakdown seems to hold true in most industries (even outside of real estate).

Understand the fees involved and calculate the total cost for an entire year of management so you can compare the different managers.

The rents have doubled from 1993, market valued quadrupled, and compared to what I paid for it, sextupled from auction prices.OK, prices quadrupled, and rents doubled.