Ill make up half of the loss of that property just by raising the rents.One metric we often dont look at, and is really hard to measure is predicted future rise in rents.

With 25k, i'd aim to put down around 10k at most (around 300k property), try to get some seller assist and all together be in for less than 15-20k.  

In close-in neighborhoods with something like R 2.5 zoning where the sidewalks are already in place, there won't be an LTIC but the land is so expensive that any homes built there will be aimed at high-income folks (e.g. $800k houses in Alberta).

(Sorry for the delayed response, wife had surgery a couple weeks ago and life has been crazy) You're a bit off on your assessment of what a cap rate measures.  

On the other hand, the cash-on-cash part of the IRR is more predictable.I agree that IRR is not the only measure.

What are some typical numbers that you aim for in your deals?  

Need help guidance to make career take off beyond measure!!!!

However, in such a case there are several things that would need to be proven, the difficult one being that the theft by the contractors was reasonably foreseeable by the landlord, such that he could have, or should have taken measures to prevent it. 

The aim is to do better for the Solo 401k savings.If you are focusing on getting your own needs taken care of, then perhaps you just park that retirement savings for a while and come back to it once you are stable and can focus on using your expertise and network in real estate to put that money to better use.

Monthly mortgage payment: $460 (assumes 20% down, 3.7% rate)Insurance: $94/month (assumes 0.9%)Property tax: $281/month (assumes 2.7%)Vacancy: $133/month (assumes 1 month out of 12, or 8.3% vacancy)Maintenance/repair: $104/month (assumes 1% of purchase price)Cap Ex budget: $112/month (assumes 7% of rent, somewhat arbitrary)Property management: $144/month (assumes 9% - I will probably self manage, but want to budget this into the cash flow)Association fee: $25/month (many neighborhoods have a small yearly fee)Total Operating costs: $893 (excludes debt)Rent: $1600/monthNOI: $707/monthCash flow after debt: $247/monthCash on cash return: 11.6% (for $25,000 down payment)I based my target purchase above to aim for > $200/month in cash flow with what I think are reasonably conservative assumptions.