Yes starting out there is a low dollar per hour but at some point it needs to be worth the while - as you could be spending that time doing something more profitable.Not saying to give up by any stretch just saying make sure to re evaluate consistently to put the best strategy together

If you don’t qualify as a real estate professional or don’t have a way to use those passive losses to offset your active income, then spending the money on the study might not be worth it.

How much $ do you want to spend? 

Spend your time learning your market and learning to market. 

I just don’t want to spend more money chasing something that will never happen.

I'm currently helping my aging parents, and I need to be spending more time taking care of them.

Operators tell me that the objection to the costs are from the children of the elder who don’t want mom to spend down her savings, fearing that she will run out of money and that there will not be any left to pass down to the kids.

The reality is we'll likely face the hardships of a (significant) decrease in spending and overall policy will be prohibitive at first.Feel like things will go 2 step backwards, 1 step forward.

I would also highly advise to spend 30 minutes and do a rent survey yourself and find comparable units and see what they rent for and charge.

And how much can I expect to spend on this process?