As a personal rule of thumb, I will only work with local lenders that I've seen around for more than 1 year and have had a face to face conversation with.

If you buy at $60,000, rehab $7,500 (worst case) then your total investment comes out to be $66,500.Rent it out for $850.Then, using the 1% rule, which I find very effective in showing me if I will make a profit comes out to  $850/$66,500 = 1.3%.   

Easy to fix.

Also check with your board if they allow you to buy the other unit as investment and what are the subletting rules.

the 2% rule is just a rule that some people use to sort through many leads to find which are worth analyzing further.

Does anyone have a general rule for factoring in expenses for a 10+ unit building?

My lender told me I could not use it unless I have 25 percent equity in my current home or my place of employment is closer to the new home.. is this true and has the rules changed?

The buyer is easy (if it's a deal).Best of luck Amiee!

Below are some quick tips about cash out refi vs HELOC/LOCCash out Pros-tax free money-low interest rate-fixed monthly payments unless you choose a variable productCash out Cons-closing costs (couple thousand)HELOC/LOC Pros-tax free -its a line of credit, hence you can use pay back then use again-usually NO closing costs on residential Helocs; there will be closing costs on commericial LOCs-commericial LOC is very fast moving as far as getting funding and refinancing  (Makes it easy to rinse and repeat)HELOC/LOC Cons-higher interest rate-variable rates-monthly payments depend on amount borrowedHope this helps,CB

In my research, for renters - I see the most demand for views, easy access - a road that does not require 4 wheel drive in winter, fire pits and hot tubs.