The cap was the go-to metric 15 years ago when I started investing, now it seems way more factors come into play, such as appreciation, quality of the property (I bought something with a 22% cap in Braddock PA last year, but also the wind could blow it over at any minute...), and estimated future value increases.  

Hence one of the factors driving up the acquisition price. 

It is crucial to analyze a market before you invest in it.There are various factors that you can analyze to have a thorough, multidimensional analysis of the market.

Of course land acquisition factors into this as it always does, and getting more rural = cheaper land but at cost of greater input for buildable land so I see it in many cases close to a break-even on that point.

Is it just a matter of factoring these expenses into the analysis and seeing what the monthly cash flow is like? 

I doubt inventory will be substantially up until spring and demand isn’t going anywhere, so the big factor is rates.

That is one of the factors driving inflation.

I don’t know how one can be a PM and not focused on asset management AND property management @Nicholas R Paust - with inventory tight it can be hard to gauge rent well at the moment especially when you consider factors like area, amenities, unit condition against comps, etc.

If they are already factoring the expenses in before sending your income over, then it is done and done.In that sense from a tax perspective there is no difference in...Revenue - $2000Expenses - $400Income - $2000 - $400 = $1600OrIncome = $1600They're effectively the same. 

You need a lender that doesn't factor your DTI/ DSCR into the lending equation.