There is some amount of positive that you need to have in order to be prepared for some bigger expenses such as replacing a roof, water heater or a re-pipe or just new toilets in general.

On a home priced around $230K, I have seen deposits ranging from $5K to 10% down. 

Plus its on a well and there is no water . 

Some are asking up to 40-50% down, most include prepayment penalties, and are in the 6.5 - 7.5% interest range with 5 year balloon, 20 year am, full recourse.

But I'd like to run the numbers in the scenario as I move out after 2 years living there to check the cashflow- Financing: owner occupied conventional loan - Downpayment: 5% - Interest rate: 4% - Loan period: 30 years (fixed) - Vacancy of 5%, Repairs of 5%, Capex of 5%, and PM of 10% - I assume I can get 10% discount based on how long it's been on the market (purchase price of $719,100) - I used Realtor.com from the link and based on purchase price of $719,100 it gives me prop tax of $749- I relied on the listing agent data of $92 per month for home insurance - I relied on the listing agent data of $112.50 per month for water, $112.50 for sewage, $95 for garbage, and $60 for lawn care (assuming the tenants pay for their own electricity and gas) - I left PMI to be 0 since I do not know how to calculate this Result: Based on assumptions and MLS listing, this property cashflow -$1,280.00 (aka, a horrible investment).

She and her husband (my brother-in law) had a condo which obviously he dumped it after her death since it’s way under water (owe like 235k, market value around 200k).

Hello all, I am currently negotiating a price on a small 22 space park in Illinois that currently has one water bill sent to the owner. 

I'm just getting what is left after management fees, water/electric bills, and repairs.They are not talking about co-mingling security deposits. 

We are interested in a house to flip that has about 8 inches of water in the basement.

The concrete is leaning towards the house and the garage drain that the washer drains into may be putting water under the garage floor (4 inch drop along a crack by drain), so will probably have to borrow for that work anyway.