This is what it looks like.6plex Sales Price $325,000 Loan Amount $260,000 Interest Rate 7.125%Term in Years 30Loan to Value 80.00%P & I $1,751.67(This loan is through an Alaska housing program for which both this property and I qualify for.)Total Rental Income $57,600 Less Vacancy 10.00% -$5,760Adjusted Gross Income $51,840EXPENSESTaxes $4,584 Insurance $2,580 Utilities including Refuse/Cable $9,661 Management $4,725 Maintenance & Repairs $1,000 Replacement Reserves $1,800 Miscellaneous $1,000 Total Expenses $25,350 Net Operating Income $26,490 Total P & I $21,020 Net Cash Flow $5,470 = $455 per monthI know that the cash flow doesn't look that great with the property management cost but it is required to be factored in for this program.

i was wondering - if i have 3 rental properties that bring in say, $1000 a month each - $500 of which for each house (or $1500 total) a month goes to principal, does that mean that my tax break would be $1500 x 12 for the first year?

The total ltv is around 55%, he has good credit.

The last assessment was for a total of $144,700, building value of $78,100.

The house was a total rehab.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics makes it easy to track month to month changes in total nonfarm employment growth in a given market, as well as growth in what they call the supersectors - 11 more or less industry specific categories.There's a lot more to consider, but simply looking at those two things will help you begin to sort markets out.I agree with avoiding RE agents for the most part; we've had much more success talking to good commercial brokers in town about what's going on.

I usually end up paying about 15% total make up on my rehabs.

They do all the property management, making it a totally passive investment for you.They will make their number look good because the expense will be very low.

It also is dependent on what typical legal costs are, and total number of units in the pool.

You now have about $12K invested in the property, if you include closing costs on the loan.You rent the place for $1050/month, and assuming an 8.5% vacancy rate (a month a year) and expenses of 40% of net income (a little low, but okay since you just rehabbed), you should see the following returns:- $40,000 in total equity created from the property ($120K valuation minus $80K loan)- Year 1 Cash flow: $862- Year 1 Equity Accrual from Payments: $894- Cash-on-Cash Return: 7.43% (not including equity generated by rehab)- Total Return: 15.14% (not incl. rehab equity or tax benefits, which are investor dependent)- Total Return Including Equity Generated by Rehab: 347%If you choose to keep the property for longer than a year, your total return will obviously drop, but you're still receiving nearly $1000 a year in cash flow, $1000 a year in equity, and still have $40K in equity generated by the rehab.Rinse and repeat...