I may be very vital against myself on the numbers, but the numbers have been updated in the posted spreadsheet and look like: ROI16.0%Cap Rate10.0%Cash on Cash12.1%Debt Coverage Ratio1.82Expenses / Income Ratio54.6%My cash flow for 2 doors is: $2,570.96And that's with the following expected expenses:- Vacancy13%($1,872.00)Adjusted Income$12,528.00Operating ExpensesMonthlyAnnual- Property Management $120$1,440- Property Taxes$120$1,440- Property Insurance$80$960- Maintenance$1,500- Utilities: Water$100$1,200- Miscellaneous Expenses$300.00I think I'll learn a lot from my first deal, and I'm ready to write a long story about it AFTER I close.

I'd suggest you change that strategy/mindset to investing in your knowledge and skills.

My advise would be to keep assessing your strengths, resources, skills and knowledge and figuring out how to use those things to accumulate assets that replace your earning power.I hope this is helpful.Mark

This is something I learned the hard way, but once I learned it- my business took off: There's a single master-skill to do both: analysis.

-Time you must spend on a property vs cost of a PM-your experience and skill(dealing with legal issues, maintenance, tenant problems, determining good tenants etc etc)-cashflow-quality of the PM (goes without saying I suppose)-Network of resources to deal with issues (lawyers, handyman, plumbers, electricians etc etc)All things to consider.

There are several things a good businessman should know whether he's flipping houses or building rocket ships, such as ethics, deductive reasoning, spelling/grammar skills, communication, etc.

While BP has no shortage of valuable posters, Jon's posting style is one I thoroughly enjoy.He has a way of imparting his knowledge, insight, and analytical skills in such a way that makes sense and is easy to understand.

The second reason is simply a skill set and preference issue.

This is not to imply that they are stupid, rather to imply that they do not have either the team, the skills, the time, or the desire to be an active investor who does the actual flips.

Of course I would love to be able to do all these little tasks myself and avoid the handymen, but I still don't feel I have the knowledge without taking 10 times as long as it would a skilled person to do it.