Lots of factors you have to take into consideration.

I do not give any consideration to appreciation.

The biggest draw to real estate for me (beside the obvious financial freedom) is the philanthropic aspect of the business.

There's so much more to the equation, that you need to give consideration to that is beyond monthly payment vs rent to analyze a property's potential as an investment.You might want to try something like this:http://beta.biggerpockets.com/files/user/brandonatbp/file/brandon-turners-spreadsheet---rental-flip-hybrid-calculator

I mean chess is easy  but the level of players varies considerably.  

But you have to take other things into consideration such as condition vacancy rate and what your goals are with that property.

It's possible that values have dropped considerably in the recent past for some reason or another.There's no way to know without doing more investigation. 

@Kelli Ell there are several considerations to help you decide if you should use SD IRA.

@William Collins , that is a great question by @Dawn Anastasi and one that you should seriously consider as you draw the map for your future.Alongside answering that question for yourself, consider this question, too:  Where is your experience, track record, and success? 

I'd have to take into consideration all the usual expenses such as taxes, repairs, interest on note, cash down, vacancies, etc. so I get that, and I also have found resources that can help you understand what comparable rents may be going for in the area, but beyond that, I'm not sure how to value if it's a good purchase to rent or not.These are obviously newbie questions so if there's a link to point me to, that would be awesome.