Our area apartments rent out for $500 and are usually 1 bedroom and other SF rental homes are in the $500-$750 depending on condition.The chamber of commerce, utilities office, and city hall all allowed us to put up a flyer and that is where the majority of our leads came from as it was people moving to town for jobs that weren't ready to buy as our potential renters.

Motivated sellers don't know to ask if you have the funds so if you just act like you do then they usually don't ask.

I realize the extra cashflow, and I can always make additional principal payments.  

@Jason Grote @Eric Barnett It's usually difficult for me to attend lunches on weekdays. 

Usually this price is $2.50 or $3 I'm told.

If it's the later,, more than likely your over market price or not offering suitable terms.Get out look and at the competition and get a perspective of your price setting.Usually a rental is advertised well in advance of the present tenant vacating and your in the wrong end of the loop people looking for rentals now are planning on vacating December 1st,, people usually look 60 days in advance to get perspective if they are going to give notice where they are to relocate in 2 months.

You have to be good at:Marketing to find deals, which usually takes money.Knowing how to run comps accurately, which requires MLS access, skill and experience.Knowing how to estimate construction costs accurately - which is a skill that takes a lot of learning.Knowing how to negotiate with sellers.

For example, we specialize only in B/B+ properties in good areas with high rental demand which usually sell (at or below market value, per appraisal) for $80-130K and provide 7-25% ROI in the first year depending on financing etc.

What I keep finding out is that my target price is always at least 20% below seller's asking price.Here are my rules/metrics:total economic loss after property is stable is 12% (15% in lower quality areas)incremental rent growth after the property is stable is 2%expenses grow by 2%/yearproperty tax is 90% of the purchase price multiplied by a local tax rate (usually doubles tax from whatever seller pays)payroll $1000-1200/unit regardless of the property size (brokers claim that 30-units don't need payroll but I don't believe them :-) )reserves of $300/unit counted in expensesexit cap rate is 100 basis points higher than current cap rate (e.g. exit at 8% if current cap rate is 7%)cash-on-cash ROI 10%+ starting in the second year; first year may be lower if this is a value-add5 years total ROI (assuming sale) is at least 100%IRR 15%+ over 5 years (al ROIs are net to investors after 20% sponsor override)I can adjust may metrics to some degree but in order for me to get to the seller's acceptable price I have to adjust most or all of them to unsustainable levels.So, what should I do other than keep underwriting and waiting until the market turns down and all of a sudden my numbers would make sense for a seller?

Hi BP,I was trying to figure out what is the average fixed cost in Massachusetts for an end buyer in the Hampden County Area, anyone has a clue what these numbers usually look like?