I’m thankful I forged a close friendship with the owner and he didn’t test the market.  

I've been turned down by two who say that it "fails the 5% test", basically saying that the cost of the initial lending fees exceed a statutory limit of 5% of the loan amount.

Who is paying for testing the water for potability and flow?

Susan I always follow one simple test. 

The washed-up English language teacher part of me continues to insist that the proper name of this site should be "Deeper Pockets," following the time-tested collocation.

Based upon my (admittedly remote) analysis, it appears reasonable to find a path to cashflow (at least compared to many other markets), but I think one has to stress-test any analysis with the assumption that property taxes are going to continue to rise on a percentage (not just absolute) basis over the coming years.

Sometimes that solves the problem:- use of plunger- test circuit breakers, bulbs, etc- close shut off valvesI also require tenants to coordinate scheduling appointments with the professionals so I don't have to get in the middle of it. 

This takes time, patience and time spent on-the-ground and in-person to meet people face-to-face, walk/drive the markets and test your assumptions of certain fundamentals.  

Renting out the other 3 units while I renovated a unit allowed me to break even monthly during each of the two renovations. 1 of the units tested positive for meth when I was buying it enabling me to get a big discount and during due diligence I confirmed with a reputable company that it would be cost just $4,000 to completely remediate the methHolding it for two years allowed me to see a lot of appreciation & get the lower capital gains tax rate What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

The nice thing is, you can open it up to only allow booking 1 month in advance if you’d like to test the waters.