I'll expand my activities in this space if I have a profitable experience over the next couple of years.

So that becomes part of your realized profit.

So I have been doing some serious debating for a while now on whether to sell one of my very good cash flowing 4 bedroom 4 bathroom single family rentals in the hot, in my opinion overpriced, Madison, Wi area for a large profit and reinvest the profit into a larger property or to hold onto it and keep the cash flow coming in.

Take away buying costs of 5pct plus title insurance etc (about 6-7k)Take away holding costs of 3kTake away selling costs of 11kTake away minimum profit of 15kMax offer 93kProperty is in a great neighborhood and LOOKS like its a paint/carpet rehab from the pics However, roof is 20 years old, ac condenser is 20 years old.  

Personally, I found @Joshua Andrews' book Paper Profits to be a really good introduction.

My Broker being the mad man he is, used my deal to bully the seller into giving my friends a good deal, so now we own the better part of a block.Right now I'm sitting on my property until the urban renewal project on my end of town brings up the property values a bit and hopefully I'll make a good profit and maybe find an investor interested in a a couple of duplexes when I go to make my next move. 

Now the house sits for three months and now Im covering the mortgage (at 143,000 for a VA mortgage your propably sitting $800 with taxes) which equates to $2400 leaving me with zero profit.

As with businesses, don't expect to profit right off the bat.

I work full time at a non-profit for at-risk inner city teens.

Cash on Cash Return - 10.19%Thanks in advance for your thoughts - RobertReturn (IRR):11.73% per yearTotal Profit when Sold:$217,855.15Cash on Cash Return:660.17%Capitalization Rate:7.69%Total Rental Income:$471,420.00Total Mortgage Payments:$245,284.85Total Expenses:$125,280.00Total Net Operating Income:$346,140.00 First Year Income and ExpenseMonthlyAnnualIncome:$1,350.00$16,200.00Mortgage Pay:$681.35$8,176.16Vacancy (3%):$40.50$486.00Property Tax:$102.17$1,226.00Total Insurance:$62.50$750.00HOA Fee:$166.67$2,000.00Maintenance Cost:$16.67$200.00Cash Flow:$280.15$3,361.84Net Operating Income (NOI):$961.50$11,538.00