Half of all SFR's in most of these towns are RENTALS.. so there is a huge supply of rental stock.Then you have the purchase of the property it self it goes like this.Local investor wholesaler sells to local rehabber.. ( profit has been made in this transaction) Local rehabber sells or markets with local turn key company ( profit is made in this transaction) then if the local turn key company does not have a proven marketing arm then they hire West Coast marketing folks to sell the properties for them and then yet another fee is added to your eventual purchase price... ( this leads to inflated price's for the end buyer)...So in your hunt I would suggest you try to go as direct as you can to the assets.

rent movement is supply and demand dependent each market, sub-market, and area will vary.

You're looking at new water supply lines, new drain lines, electrical, etc.

Landscaping - $500Appliances- $2500Refinishing Cabinets- $200- Very liberal estimateFlooring- Carpet upstairs, hardwood/vinyl tile downstairs- $3,000Miscellaneous fixtures, bathroom vanity, toilet seats, supplies, etc.- $2,000Total: $11,000I will be doing most of the work myself, I have a family member who has worked in remodeling for the last decade to work alongside me. 

It isn't a "bad" neighborhood in terms of crime and abandoned/boarded homes; it is probably a solidly blue collar neighborhood supplying the airport and surrounding businesses with employees.

Title companies can supply some data.Trouble with any source except the MLS is that information about the property and any seller concessions aren't recorded. 

Let's PM to coordinate a place and time.As far as your friend's place, in those numbers there is no room for capital expenses, regular maintenance, utilities (in NY heat and hot water must be supplied by the landlord), or vacancy, so I wouldn't consider his cash flow to be $300/month.

Doug,Sounds like a great opportunity if good PM's are in short supply in that area.

They have no motivation to supply that to you.

The rental demand is very strong right now and acquisition prices are still fairly low, but the supply of bank-owned / foreclosure properties has tightened up a bit over the last 6 months.Have you looked at particular sub-markets?