And then I've done enough rehabs to know the cost range to expect as well as cap-ex costs. 

Also, since the housing crunch my bank no longer caps rates like they used to.

My current primary was a buy low deal in 09' so it will cash flow north of $500.00 a month after all debt service, cap ex and vacancy allocations and with our W2 incomes we can easily afford the new house and still have a nice life style.Is there such a thing as "Happy Wife, Happy Life" or do I stay the course and make her wait (or divorce me) until we have our rental portfolio started/establish.... what's a good number to get to before we upgrade our primary?

Thanks Joshua.HOA seems to be in good shape and financially sound.Investor friendly with no rental cap.

The Security Deposit Law (for lease agreements of a year or more) caps how much the security deposit is (one month's rent) and within thirty days the deposit must be placed in an interest bearing account where the landlord provides the tenant a receipt indicating the name and location of the bank where it is being held.

I was going to get an llc, but my cap suggested a GP with my wife.

The Caps are 2/2/5 and comes with a 3-2-1 step-down prepayment penalty.

No one is going to buy a multifamily at a 3 cap when rates are are at 7-8%.  

So I would say hard pass on that personAll IRR is the time value of money and it’s a set of dates and revenues/expenses to get the interest rate you pay yourselfTo answer the question Cap rates ignore debt financing

Putting a $200-$300k downpayment on a negatively cash flowing property in SF Bay Area would easily cover at least 10 down payments on 10 different Midwestern properties that each have a CAP rate of 8% or more.