In other words, the relative weight of income vs. comp sales is already "baked in" to the final appraisal number.All the lender cares about is, is the appraisal at or above the purchase price, they don't care if it's 174 or 184.

Possibly more...However some contractors will bake in the material cost up charge, whether they supply it or not.

That book showed me a lot of the factual numbers behind investing and I still like to review it now and again to keep things fresh.

I think it's still good to offset your living cost but not as sweet of deal for the guys fresh out the gate

It's best to get them out, turn the place around (fresh paint, flooring, etc.), and then rent it to someone that is willing/able to pay market rate.Start by going to www.narpm.org to search their directory of managers.

If it's been on the market for a while, I would consider taking down and reposting so it's fresh. 

Someone who has had steady income for a decade will be more susceptible to strategies than a student fresh out of college. 

Value is being added to this property by redoing the kitchen & bath, a fresh coat of paint, and installing laminate floors instead of the carpet.

This has happened a couple of times.Corelogic's tool 'Realist' is baked into 80% of the MLSs nationwide, providing the tax/sales/people data fueling the comps/CMA many realtors use for a quick look.

A rate of return makes assessing real estate deals simpler by baking in investment scale and in the case of IRR, time.