Yesterday, my tenant sent me a picture of a note that was taped to the door of my condo.

You make your money when you buy, so you want to buy low enough to have enough margin to cover rehab plus your profit at the end.

I picture a scummy half way house but I'd like to think there are good operators out there.

Then 10 years into it, my cash flow was up to $30K/year, including covering several thousand a year in small nuisance repairs.

It's all a game of creating barriers of exposure to your other assets and if you have a big enough accident at your property, insurance will not cover it most likely. 

Plus, you'll want to create an upfront operating account of 1% to 5% of the purchase price to cover unexpected expenses before you've accumulated enough money for the $250 to $300 savings.For SFRs or smaller multifamily, as you said, it depends.

@Gab Loo @Hannah Peerbolt wrote a good blog that covers a lot about what to look for in your property manager.

My goal is to do a full 20, get out at 42 years old, and be done working with enough money to cover expenses + have ~$10K/month excess.

This is where I live - my 3 apartments cover my mortgage and I am in essence living here “for free.”

@Josue Velney That doesnt sound unreasonable at all . 10% gets you on the schedule , covers the paperwork time and phone call time to get the job up and going .