I got a great deal ultimately and I was pleasantly surprised after closing that the property had been cleared of all trash. 

The smallest items can help you document your files that this was a surprise and that you really did have the intent to hold for investment purposes.

@Mark Gallagher it's rather surprising you are not using craigslist & hire only off referrals considering that you hire guys "who probably don't have the money to buy supplies"You get what you pay for folks.

The ball is in their court.Generally speaking, I am surprised that a number of software packages even call themselves PM software.

In Portlandia is about 270ish not sure on median in rents but would not be surprised if it hit that 1500 mark...

Allow for the fact that property taxes and insurance rarely decline, and can sometimes spike suddenly.The net gain, once taxes on rental income are factored in, should be at least 8%, he says.Landlords also routinely get emergency calls from tenants about urgent repairs, so it is often best to live or work in the area to get to the property quickly, if necessary.

Either way, I'm taking a look into the trends and how those trends were impacted by the big COVID surprise of 2020. 

I would not be surprise if the government start going after folks for not following regulations a way to collect more money.There was an interesting case Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller files suit in tax-sale scam.

You will be surprised what will happen in this crazy world of real estate!

My "emergency" idea would be to downsize from my current house to a smaller one and pocket 200k if I needed it.