The best advice is to buy something where you want to live, and do the math properly when calculating expenses. 

I had posted this in the new member introductions forum but I wasn't sure where it should go so I'm posing here in the starting out forum as well.I've had this idea in my head for a couple years now about buying property and then renting all or part of it out in order to develop an alternative income stream and I just found out about the bigger pockets community a couple of months ago.

Lots of people expect the Obama Library and other developments to push value in this area of town.About the deal, based on my analysis I see 6-units having about $3500 in water expenses annually.

It is bad enough to reward criminal tenants but not having a eviction on their record impedes the rest of us from properly screening them in the future. 

I’d look for properties that you can add value to, perhaps expanding the number of bedrooms or units to get more rent or possibly splitting the land if there is enough for a developable lot.

The fact they are complaining online might be an indication the property manager dealt with them properly so be sure to ask the manager for their side of the story.I hope this basic guide helps.

It was a development project of townhomes.

He also said, for that reason, they stopped buying properties in 2012 and pivoted to developing apartments from the ground up.Arguably, they missed a lot of upside with that rule.

What special rules do I need to follow (e.g. proper number and placement of smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors) that might apply to a rental property that don't apply to a primary residence, or where can I find these rules?

As far as some tips to keep in mind though, I would say to develop a great understanding of the area you are looking at investing in.