The purchase price I have set is $15,000 less than the current asking price, but it has been on the market for a few months now so I assume that to be reasonable, especially since this person is trying to offload a triple property package deal.

So i TOTALLY RECOMMEND INVESTING IN TENNESSEE.Speaking on South Florida, First off its not a very large area in terms of land compared to other areas in the country, so with this in mind I don't know that i would say its a bad area to invest in, but i do think that a seasoned investor would do much better here than a newbie, simply bc i think its safe to assume they would have the network/financial backing to move quickly on deals... 

Specifically, since the mortgage is a self- liquidating liability, funded by tenants’ rental payments (assuming, of course, at least “break-even” cash flow), this new equity never came from the owner’s pocket.

Assume that every applicant is a “tester”, who is out to trick you into saying something lawsuit-worthy. 

Now, this assumes you are just a normal person with a normal house.

Let’s assume it rents for 3k/month 25 years down the road.... 5 years collecting rent you’re at the break even point.

If you do, it's not going to happen overnight- it'll take at least a couple weeks, assuming you just got an appraisal on the subject property.

If your just getting started, get someone experienced in RE accounting, set you on the right path, and if you decide to try it on your own later on, at least you started off right.As to real estate taxes and insurance, I assume you're on cash basis accounting, so I would deduct the entire amount.

I assume having a good realtor and contractor are crucial 4.

Here are the #s from the BP property estimator.Purchase Closing Costs$3,500.00Estimated Repairs$0.00Total Project Cost$248,500.00After Repair Value$245,000.00Down Payment$8,575.00Loan Amount$236,425.00Loan Points$4,728.50Amortized Over30 yearsLoan Interest Rate4.375%Monthly P&I$1,180.44Total Cash Needed$16,803.50 $2,900.00 MONTHLY INCOME$2,468.77 MONTHLY EXPENSES$431.23 MONTHLY CASHFLOW7.89% PRO FORMA CAP$19,340.00 NOI$16,803.50 TOTAL CASH NEEDED30.80% CASH ON CASH ROI7.89% PURCHASE CAP RATEI assumed I'll do an FHA loan at 3.5% (or maybe 5%) and would pay closing costs out of pocket.