As a small investor it doesn't make sense to go through the time to create and maintain a separate FB page.

I have considered opening up a second custodian for my transactions that are truly same day but I have not yet found one which seems worth paying another set of annual fees and transaction costs to maintain an account for the few truly urgent transactions I do each year.

You have to define what we are talking about here.Average that I see is 30% Operating and Expenses,10% property management,10% vacancy.Every building is different and has it's own set of challenges.If someone self manages they can claim lower operating expenses with no management costs.Although the landlord does use up their time and energy which should have a monetary value to it.I tell landlords when I list their property that we have to count a property management fee in the numbers.If not a majority of the buyers will not be self managing and the numbers won't make sense to them.Otherwise we will be looking to sell to a small group who self manages.It depends on the size of the building as well.Many small buildings like a duplex or quad is self managed.Most larger buildings are not but there are a few.If you go over 50 units you can easily get a 5% property management fee but vacancy can generally run higher at 15% and with 30% O and E still puts you at 50%.I do see some buildings running at 60%.It's because the owners are underwater on the loans and have not maintained the property.They keep having to do patchwork repairs to get by and have high tenant turnover with rekey and reconditioning unit expenses which drives O and E above the 30% mark.If you factor rehab and going in and making changes and charging a slightly lower rent you can decrease tenant turnover and cute repairs to bring inline with the 50% total costs.You just have to look at what you can do with the property.The 50% is only a starting point.

@Joel -I see your point on maintaining the property and watching your pennies.

•providing you with monthly and annual financial reports, so you always know how your property is performing •tracking and invoicing tenants for CAM charges •maintaining and keeping your property in exceptional condition and undertake specific preventative maintenance processes•professionally marketing your property to minimize vacancies and maximize income via my numerous industry related affiliations and web presence •overseeing the leasing process (if requested) finding qualified, suitable tenants, and professionally managing every aspect of the landlord-tenant relationship •overseeing initial tenant improvement installation and/or renovations •collecting rent and late •ensuring that your property complies with federal, state and local laws and regulations •maintaining insurance policies for the property and coordinating the payment of all property expenses •responding to tenant requests in a prompt and professional manner •providing you with a successful advertising strategy that keeps your property rented •credit and background screening to insure your property is respected •cost reductions- your property will benefit from detailed expense reviews and wholesale pricing for re-occurring and non-recurring expenses.

BUT, they asked us a few times if we owned other properties because they appreciated the way we maintained the house they were in.

From what I have read about historical district properties, they are a little more expensive to maintain since the work needs to be in accordance with strict city guidelines.This is what I found on Wiki..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historic_districts_in_the_United_States#cite_note-nythu-16

The house I'm planning to make an offer on is set back from the others in the subdivision so the driveway is about 3 times as long as it would normally be.It's in average condition, although there is an oak tree that seems to be pushing it up a bit from beneath at one point (I don't know which house owns the oak tree, and the house next door is a vacant REO).Would maintaining this driveway be a high maintenance cost in the long run for a rental?

I just hope he can maintain his quality character given the incredible pressure from his fame and fortune.BTW, is it true that Joshua Dorkin is secretly negotiating with TT to be a special guest at the BP Summit in March?

Of course, it would need to be done in a way that will allow me to maintain the personal liability protection offered by the LLC.