Remember, vacancy rates can kill you. 

I would build the cost of cleaning carpets between tenants into the cost of the one year lease, put in an early termination fee of X amount to cover reconditioning and vacancy time if they stay less than a year, and make the deposit just that, a security deposit. 

There is vacancy, cap expense, maintenance, typically you allocate for property management even if self managing because 1) You may change your mind in the future 2) it takes time and effort and you should be compensated for it.  

Saw this duplex on the MLS Purchase price: $59,900Down payment: $11,980Annual Debt: $2875 (@6%)Rent : $1010 (fully occupied)Expenses: $4638 (10% PM ; 5% each for vacancy, repairs & Capex + insurance & tax)Cashflow: $4607 p/yHere is the property: https://www.redfin.com/TN/Memp...Deal or no deal?

They may cashflow at first but the moment you need to overhaul a property due to vacancy you're talking about $7,500-$10,000 per house and that will destroy years of cashflow from that one house much less the overall portfolio. 

You don't want to be in a situation where a couple of months of vacancy leaves you homeless.

If you are considering going the turn key route, here are the things to look out for and avoid in a turn key company.Don't allow financing or a finance contingency (it can be a good indication they are selling above market value)Don't allow for your own independent property inspectionAre not realistic with their pro forma's (i.e. they don't include vacancy or maintenance projections or use unrealistically low vacancy factors)Require you to pay for any renovation upfrontSell only in cheap. low end neighborhoodsDon't accurately represent the neighborhood/property classificationDon't have consistent rehab standards for all propertiesDon't provide a scope of work for the propertyCan't provide references of repeat investorsRequire you to close before a tenant is in place

If you have the money for a down payment with extra for rehab and a cpl months vacancy, the Malden, Melrose, Medford, & Wakefield areas are still gold.

Please make sure they have the very expensive vacancy housing insurance or they won’t be covered if it’s been vacant more than 60-90 days. 

When analyzing cashflow with your clients what type of cap ex, vacancies, and repairs do you account for?