You easily could have had wind blow off shingles and it cost $500 to repair, you wouldn't charge the tenant.

You should determine the monthly cost for property taxes, insurance, repairs/maint, capex & maybe vacancy.

Still a no from the seller.From what we could see after a home inspection , it would cost less than $1000 to make the necessary repairs to be compliant for the c of o.

I'm now looking at 6 weeks worth of repairs being paid for by the insurance company.

Do you have the cash to pay for the repairs?

Repairs are inevitable over time.

. $500 a month sounds wonderful, but is it really going to end up being 500 for three months then spend 4k on a repair and come out making 2k at the end of the year assuming no other repairs.  

Did they inspect the house, list the repairs and estimates to fix? 

You might make 900/month on those 3 Gastonia properties that are the same price as one Harrisburg property that only cash flows 200/300 per month On the other hand, the Gastonia properties will have high turnover and the occasional drama from vacancy and/or needed repairs, that will decrease their valueLots to consider:  nothing is ever easy :)I can't imagine managing properties from across the Country. 

Even if you're planning on doing repairs, showings, leases, and all that jazz yourself, deployments are a thing and you'll want to have access to folks who can take care of things while you're away if they pop up.