@Brett Merrill I call it the back of the napkin analysis.

To get the number I did a simple napkin math see how much I need to cover my basic life expenses while staying happy. 

There are tax implications for us due to our income, my napkin calculations showed that closing a deal in 2019 would save us about $3000 vs waiting until 2020.

What it does NOT include is debt service.Regardless if you like the guideline or not, one must keep in mind it is for a “back of the napkin” quick analysis and useful for comparing apples to apples between investments, it is NOT EVER a tool to use as a buying decision.

As the numbers will NEVER be as presented in the calculator.. so you miss deals you should have bought and you buy ones you should have passed on.you need simple back of napkin macro numbers then go look like you said.. all this drilling down to see if it makes a 10.378 return is just over kill in the SFR rental realm..

Not exact, but close enough for a 'cocktail napkin' sardined into a window seat spilling ginger ale on my keyboard. 

Cocktail napkin math says I should be able to get her down $20K before inspections. 

To make matters worse, to be vindictive and spiteful, the tenants start calling the city for every minor issue which in fact they’ve caused for example, the woman insists on flushing her sanitary napkins in the toilet which causes plumbing issues that I constantly have to hire people and rent equipment to fix.

Without digging into the details, the back-of-the-napkin calculation sounds like you would be all-in for $180K for a property that rents for $1,400/month.

@Hans AgarwalBack of the napkin numbers... 50% of your revenue received will end up in expenses... so half of $15k is $7.5k... after your debt service, you may be cash flowing negatively.