You said that historical apprciation on RE is 14%, I'd have to say that is very "area specific" and over a very short term. 14% means prices are doubling every 5 years, even if that's been the historical case, it can't be maintained in an economy where real incomes are falling.You've also neglected all of your other costs in the condo calculations, management, vacancy, upkeep, repairs etc.I'm not sure of your age, but with your income (5X the national average) why are you not participating in OWNERSHIP OF BUSINESSES, other than your own?

If we can maintain that and get through this we'l be OK.

For instance, I drive up to an "ugly" house that is obviously unoccuppied and not being maintained and requires somes repairs, how do I in a time effective way determine whether I should put this house on my list of potential wholesale properties or not?

Don't try to maintain a low income rental as if it were your personal house.

If that is the case, you would have to put in a sump pump which can be expensive to install and a difficult to maintain.

As a small investor it doesn't make sense to go through the time to create and maintain a separate FB page.

I have considered opening up a second custodian for my transactions that are truly same day but I have not yet found one which seems worth paying another set of annual fees and transaction costs to maintain an account for the few truly urgent transactions I do each year.

You have to define what we are talking about here.Average that I see is 30% Operating and Expenses,10% property management,10% vacancy.Every building is different and has it's own set of challenges.If someone self manages they can claim lower operating expenses with no management costs.Although the landlord does use up their time and energy which should have a monetary value to it.I tell landlords when I list their property that we have to count a property management fee in the numbers.If not a majority of the buyers will not be self managing and the numbers won't make sense to them.Otherwise we will be looking to sell to a small group who self manages.It depends on the size of the building as well.Many small buildings like a duplex or quad is self managed.Most larger buildings are not but there are a few.If you go over 50 units you can easily get a 5% property management fee but vacancy can generally run higher at 15% and with 30% O and E still puts you at 50%.I do see some buildings running at 60%.It's because the owners are underwater on the loans and have not maintained the property.They keep having to do patchwork repairs to get by and have high tenant turnover with rekey and reconditioning unit expenses which drives O and E above the 30% mark.If you factor rehab and going in and making changes and charging a slightly lower rent you can decrease tenant turnover and cute repairs to bring inline with the 50% total costs.You just have to look at what you can do with the property.The 50% is only a starting point.

@Joel -I see your point on maintaining the property and watching your pennies.

•providing you with monthly and annual financial reports, so you always know how your property is performing •tracking and invoicing tenants for CAM charges •maintaining and keeping your property in exceptional condition and undertake specific preventative maintenance processes•professionally marketing your property to minimize vacancies and maximize income via my numerous industry related affiliations and web presence •overseeing the leasing process (if requested) finding qualified, suitable tenants, and professionally managing every aspect of the landlord-tenant relationship •overseeing initial tenant improvement installation and/or renovations •collecting rent and late •ensuring that your property complies with federal, state and local laws and regulations •maintaining insurance policies for the property and coordinating the payment of all property expenses •responding to tenant requests in a prompt and professional manner •providing you with a successful advertising strategy that keeps your property rented •credit and background screening to insure your property is respected •cost reductions- your property will benefit from detailed expense reviews and wholesale pricing for re-occurring and non-recurring expenses.