He’s been in business 15yrs fully licensed and insured.

I've been in the insurance industry for 10 years now and have owned my own agency for 5 years.

With P&I, taxes, utilities, insurance, rehab costs and roughly 30-35% (10 vacancy,10 management,10 capex and 2-5 for repairs) variable expenses.

For example, a medical bill that you thought insurance would cover, but didn't.

As for the guts, new plumbing, hvac, & windows are another way to inject some value. 

Ive worked as a Mortgage Loan Officer for a few years, an Insurance Agent for quite sometime, I also have about 15 years of construction experience.

Residentshall be responsible, at Resident’s expense, for hauling to the dump those items too large to fit in the trash containers.Resident shall not dispose of any flammable liquids, rags or other items soaked with flammable liquids or any otherhazardous material in trash containers or bins;(b) to properly use and operate all electrical, gas and plumbing fixtures and keep them as clean and sanitary as theircondition permits;(c) to keep the premises and furniture, furnishings and appliances, and fixtures, which are rented for Resident’s exclusiveuse, in good order and condition; that all rooms on the premises and all appliances and fixtures on the premises must beable to be used for their intended purpose(s);(d) not to willfully or wantonly destroy, deface, damage, impair or remove any part of the structure or dwelling unit or thefacilities, equipment, or appurtenances thereto or to permit any person on the premises, to do any such thing;(e) to occupy the premises as a residence, utilizing portions thereof for living, sleeping, cooking or dining purposes only whichwere respectively designed or intended to be used for such purposes.

I have a background in finance and my full time job is in insurance, but have always been interested in using real estate as a wealth building and passive income tool. 

That should help insure some sense of priority and trust to find the right "investment." 

I like the 70% Rule as a good guide to make sure you are getting a good deal, but when I crunched the numbers on the property I currently live in, using the 50% Rule I found I would actually have negative cash flow.Ideally I would rent the property for $1,400/month, my mortgage comes to roughly $830/month which includes the taxes and insurance in escrow, bringing my operating costs to $1,530/month.