Professional photos, 3D scan, SEO presence and experienced agents that are paid based on your customer service experience is what I'd look for..paying someone for any level of service just doesn't seem like a good investment to me.I would also question the ethics of any brokerage/agent that bad mouth's or publicly makes false statements about another brokerage in direct violation of National Association of Realtors Code of Ethics (low paid, inexperienced agents)  I guess some folks feel a need to tear someone down to build themselves up!

There's also another perk to owning your own home I didn't elaborate on: A 3% annual cap on property tax increases because of Save Our Homes.

The existing quad is listed for sale at $1.1M and a 5.3% CAP.Commercial multifamily in the area sells at a CAP rate of roughly 4.5%.The existing property is zoned to allow for 6 units and has available land to build an addition duplex for ~$150 per sqft.Assume 1000 sqft duplex at $150,000 and we’ll build that into the loan.After expenses, the additional units will each increase the annual NOI by $14,400 = (Gross rent – operating expenses = $600x12x2).Purchase Price  $1.1MMConstruction:  $150KLoan amount: $1MMTotal for project:  $1.25MM20% down: $250KPre-construction NOI:   $58,300Post construction NOI:  $72,700What is the estimated property value after construction?

Long term wealth, increased month to month income, diversity? 

Find a house in decent shape and focus on the areas that will increase the value and appeal to people simultaneously. 

In some cases i have seen rental prices going up after floods as many units are not livable or need repairs so if you end up with a property that was not damaged, you might see some short term higher demand and price increase.

Long term tenants can be a major pain when it comes to increasing the income on a property when renovation is necessary.

Just a happy customer. 

Here are some screen shots of how I CUSTOMIZED QuickBooks that worked for me.

You'll increase in speed as you get better managing your properties, setting rent rates, finding deals and learning the systems.