She had poor screening to allow the previous tenants to rent it and then she returned the deposit to tenants whom damaged her property.

It's a function of time and effort for the return upon closing of a successful transaction and will it lead to more long term business etc.Hope this helps some as I am an investor myself and principal commercial broker.

The return from a rental will generate next to no income relatively speaking.

Or should I look for deals that make more sense return-wise in other smaller/less expensive markets?

Then if you had an emergency repair you needed to finance, at least you know that capital would be returned to you in the short term, and is earning a nice return, usually 8 to 12 percent.

Reinvesting the funds has No bearing on taxes on the gain......the only time that applies is if you were doing a 1031.They will be due on his 2019 tax return.

I purchased the home 4 years ago as my primary residence and have had tenants with steady income on three tax returns from the rental unit.

You will more than likely not see a return on a kitchen remodel, but an extra bath might add some value.At first blush I wouldn't pay anywhere near those numbers, but again I am located in the midwest and most of my properties retail between 90 and 135k

My whole point is that when analyzing a property in the book Brandon speaks of cash on cash return of 10% as a goal.

Lenders are my only partners, they take on the most risk, and they do it for a low return.