Providing a maintenance request system...My very genuine question back to you all is: [size=18]How important are these 6 features listed above versus having a detailed and robust accounting package?

You'll have no trouble getting financing on a residential property that you plan to live in with 5% down.The reason I say this is because that 95% you have left will by you a very nice sized apartment building.

It's better to go with a moderate sized loan, like $3-10MM rathern than a small one under that price.

Good guess.With even a small apartment building of this size here's what you'd be getting:Approximately: $2000 liquid spendable cashMortgage paydown of about: $400 to start@ 5% appreciation per year on a $650k apartment building you'd make: $2700 per monthAdd all of that up and you're making: $5100 net per month.

So you have to go by what other acerages have sold near by which are similar in size and scope, and also go by what other acerages are selling for.

Either can work, but rents are going to be higher with private kitchen and bath that for shared.In any multi-bedroom unit, its better if the bedrooms are the same size than if they're different.

I generally use paint from Home Depot and I buy it in the 5 gallon size.

Any particular size range?

Depends on the laws in the area too and the quality and size of the units.

But based on my understanding of the 50% rule, it simply states that if your sample size is large (many properties over many years) your expenses should work out to be about half your gross rent before vacancy.