My capex budget includes roof 25 year life span, floors 10 year life span,appliance and hot water heater 12 year life span, hvac 20 year life span, bath and kitchen remodel 20 year life span. 

I'm looking for systems and education on estimating repair costs so that I can put together accurate budgets, timelines, costs, etc. 

We are don't mind to commute from suburbs or share apartment  with other tenants  if numbers make sense. our budget is 250K, so I was looking either condo in South of Chicago (rent by room) or SFH in NW Indiana (Live on the basement or in law suit and rent out the unit).

That way, when an A/C unit breaks or you have to replace the roof, you've already budgeted for that. 

We tied our fees into the rehab budget, but it was 8% interest only.

Factor in trucks , equipment , payroll , licenses , insurance , fuel , rent .

If you think rehab will take 3 months, budget 5-6, etc.  

Take a car for example that brand new Truck, Tesla etc. you buy for $60k and you are happy with it it is a great car, but you find out the dealer down the street was selling it for $50k the exact same car just a lower price. 

Our budget is higher than what someone might expect, but I'd rather not disclose those specifics here. 

While he offered a few other properties as well, this brought me close to the extent of my budget.