Combined population is 70k with the bulk of that being in Florence.

Maintenance is a function of time and expenses.

A little over 2 years later we've mainly been full with a combination of corporate leases, Airbnb and VRBO.I'm going to give you a bit of advice, make sure that you are agile and can pivot if STR is not working. 

It essentially pulls power from the unit that is not currently functioning.

It’s easier for both these functions since they know us personally.  

A very small percentage of buyers see the opportunity and want to do the work.If you can buy with a Non-QM(DSCR is Non-QM), separate the parcels and make them eligible for conventional financing you'll have a lot more buyers in the market and therefore more value with the two separate properties than the one combined. 

My plan is actually to do a test run so I hope to be able to report back, but thought I would ask others as I haven't seen anyone (yet) that put an actual (tentative of course) offer on a postcard.My mailer list will be a combination of parcels that 1) have been more researched, so I feel comfortable putting a quote based on Market Value from Assessor lists, comps from recent sales, etc. and 2) those with less data available - these wont get a "quote" postcard but a more neutral message. 

I probably analyzed about 20 different cities in 150 mile radius from NYC until I found a market I had a good feeling for...in my case I was lucky to find a tired landlord that just wanted to get rid of the house after evicting a tenant...having analyzed so many houses in the area I saw immediately it was priced well and was able to make an offer within 2 days...appraisal came couple of Ks higher then accepted offer...Bottom line it is a combination of luck supported by lots of education and preparation.Good Luck

That often equals up to 30%+ of the total of the purchase price & rehab amounts combined. 

Bought with Fully functioning (furnished) accessory dwelling unit with separate access currently covering ~70% of the mortgage.