The main one was that the AC is loud and is right outside the master keeping the tenants up at night. 

Central Maine Property Management for sure!! 

Hi Bob,When purchasing apartments/multifamily, there are 10 main reports you want to obtain during the due diligence phase (between contract and close):Financial document auditInternal property condition assessmentMarket surveyLease auditUnit walk reportSite surveyProperty condition assessmentenvironmental site assessmentAppraisalGreen reportMuch more involved than due diligence on a SFR.

Still in the process of fixing up the main floor unit from the abuse it took from previous renters.  

Any links to a beginner's curriculum of study (e.g. the top couple of books to read, or the main topics you should study before jumping in) on the BP site or elsewhere would be much appreciated.And finally:I would love to connect with folks both in my area and out of area, so let's!

I don't know what a good vacancy rate is as opposed to a bad one.. but if your managing 2k to 10k houses I suspect your always have some manner of vacancy.. the main take away for me is you simply cannot buy property in the "cash flow markets" were your buying in the lower third of the economics of a given MSA.. those are just tough for whatever reason history has proved this.. most of the buyers have only them selves to blame here.. they are all mesmerized about COC returns and take risk they just don't understand.. then they blame the tenant and the asset.. when in fact its their own choices that lead to the inevitable in low value asset or bottom third in price point in a MSA..

My Facebook one says - Thank you for your interest in 123 Main St!

I know folks who focus on college markets and the lease up period can get intense and competitive so make sure you factor that in as well.

If you don't at least take this into account in your discussion and factor those in the seller will most likely totally blow off your offer as it would not seem well thought out and defensible.The other thing I would check on the tax assessed value is it one PID, sometimes they will split it into 2 PIDS, 1 house and 1 other land.Just thoughts.

I know it is common to use 10% as a vacancy factor when trying to model performance of an asset or a collection of assets.