There are a TON of deals I've done where if I used the 70% rule I would have never considered the deal yet they made me 30k or more.One of the most trusted investors I know who is making 100k a month in passive income has a rule of $200 per door and 10% maintenance/management, insurance cost etc...Write out the numbers and see what it comes out to.

Thanks  Paula, it feels good to know that I'm not the only one who has put to much trust in a Contractor. 

They tend to deal on a personal as opposed to professional level.

Trust yourself and don't let other people's valuation sway your decision.

But if the current property is performing then it may be worth it.If that property is not performing at a level you would want then no refi in the world is going to work as well for you. 

Great opinions, thanks to all.My wife thinks we should go w the 2-yr lease because my stress levels always increase when I have to actually do work for this $$$.

Im not playing in SW WI, but i do in Northern WI, you really need to know your market and numbers, compas are tougher to understand, but I do well im my markets, the majority of my portfolio is either rural, or in towns below 15K people. if you have a good team and a PM that operates at a high level, those markets can be gold, but its not for everyone, its not easy, but generally there is little competition and high demand@Michael B. population of 70K is quite big in most of WI other than Milwaukee, Green Bay, Madison and Appleton, there are not many cities north of 50K populations. 

I'm asking because from a few hours of googling around, it seems like the numbers across website are wildly different (I've seen from ~5% to 10% for the same exact zipcode), and I'm wondering which ones the veterans trust?

You don't NEED a realtor to complete a residential real estate transaction although they can certainly be helpful - it just depends on your comfort level with owning all the steps yourself.   

Personally i dont want to do engineering forever, every upper level engineer i know works crazy hours and the stress level seems high.Good luck in engineering and real estate.