However, considering a sale of the property would net about 175k after paying off the LOC, commission, and other fees- I have to think a downpayment of that size on another property would be more beneficial.

I probably over sized our boiler however I did it to ensure we'd never run out of hot water.

You don't say the size of your units but from people I talk to a one or two bedroom doesn't get the wear and tear our 3 bedroom does.

In terms of size of building it will be between 4 - 24 units.

Basically I have a rental that is 2700 sq feet with pool and landscaping and right now is using $50/mo for water and sewer (higher in the summer) so I budget $50 for any rental smaller than this with less water usage just to make sure I am not undershooting the value.Same for Electricity and same for gas: Call and ask or ask the owner/tenant what the average bill is.Repairs- I budget 5-10% of purchase price, but only as personal preference, you will figure out what you need as you go along.Vacancy-this is more than most would do, but I collected demographic data on all zip codes in Tucson so I knew the vacancies, employment sectors, house hold size, schools etc of my target areas.

I've seen a lot of places being over-built lately.For blinds, it gets pretty hard to beat the box stores at price if you have a window that is a "normal" size.

The maintenance fees usually will be about the price you would pay for the same size space if you rented.

See attached chart.

Have fun, demographics geeks.

And proper cash reserves is important with any size portfolio