The long-term tenants are in a 1-year lease that is actually $200 per month below current rental rates - the current owner has not kept up with the rental market, and has not properly raised rent as the demand has increased.

You will be looking at recognizing the increase now as opposed to later.

In most investing scenarios, even outside of real estate, as the risk increases, so should your return.

This is a bit too simple to use reliably, though some wholesalers do it.Plus there are 1009810948 threads about ARV and repairs right here on BP, and these 2 pieces are going to be critical to nail ASAP as a wholesaler.  

This allows me to do a 1031 exchange and get into newer properties with better tax advantages (once I have used up most of the depreciation from the previous rental), and it allows me to never deal with deferred maintenance issues that increase my cost of ownership.

Never mind the fact that there are a whole lot of people looking to buy a property (increasing by the day) to live in themselves.From what I have seen, most MLS listed duplex properties in Denver (and most other properties, too) are at a purchase price that would put you so far away from the 1% goal - it would be impossible to cash flow them now or in the near future. (1% being the rough guide for considering a property, rent/month is 1% of the purchase price of the property).

The reason that I am writing this post is simple.  

Let's rounded to $400/mo/unit to simplify the numbers.That is an income of $1600*12/yr from rent ~= $19,200Now, expenses:Maintenance: $9,600/yr (50% rule)Taxes: Around 1% ( lucky New Mexicans): $1,700/yrMortgage Payment ([email protected]%): $763/mo ~= $9,150/yrInsurance: Around $1,000/yrPossible Cashflow per Year: 19200 - 9600 - 1700 - 9150 - 1000 = (-$2,250)A negative cashflow does not look so good, but here are 2 opportunities to increment it:1) Increase rents.

You might also want to consider "The Simple Man's Guide to Real Estate."

Beyond that, I am intrigued by the possibility of building a portfolio of small multifamily properties and generating cash flow to increase my flexibility and time with my two young sons.