New construction is REALLY easy to ballpark, but isn't not for sure until you get solid plans in front of you.Simple jobs for small houses (Paint, carpet, new fixtures) look a lot like me walking around counting doors, windows, toilets, flush lights, etc. on my fingers and toes.

Not counting appreciation and or equity but those are huge pluses as wellIt can get a bit confusing bc due to my passive income I am able to max out other investment vehicles from my W-2 income IE.

A single member LLC is usually eaisly defeated as most owners can't see themselves making out a minutes book authroizing themselves to go buy materials or make an offer on a property, but a well maintained entity would require these efforts as evidence that the LLC was actually a seperate entity from the owner/member.The more you treat your entity as a seperate being the better off you'll be in having it viewed that way.

However there is opportunity for quite a bit of appreciation if the economy recovers in the inner city.We already see neighborhoods reviving locally in Dayton but not enough to count on any great increases in the short run (2-5 years).

Plan on chasing a few each month to pay the water bill.If your meter is not from the water authority they will also say your meter isn't working properly or is billing them for more water that another tenant is using.All depends on the type of renters and area you are working with.I know an investor that owns an older 150 unit.They submeter and bill the tenants.75% pay the water bill they get and the rest they have to chase after to get payment.If all your tenants end up paying the water bill you send them count yourself lucky.

Newlife I would not worry about it...When shopping for a mortgage you have 2 weeks (last time I was told in a meeting with Fair Credco) where it will only count as one inquiry (credit score wise) even if you have multiple pulls and really one month where it would not effect your credit.

You can count on having special assessments at some point because HOAs, like any property, will have big bills they have to pay.

Due to the Housing Bill signed August of this year, investors can turn a rental into a residence before the new law comes into effect Jan. 1 2009, live there two years, rent for three years then sell and the rental does not count as "unqualified time" against the capital gain exclusion.

Having an LLC in one state and doing business with it (having the property owned in another state, as example) defeats the entire purpose of having an LLC which is a layer of asset protection.

Be aware that different measures exclude some things that ought to be counted (IMO) and can highly distort the picture.