Did you do any rehab / renovations on the property , and did you fund them out of the incoming rent ? 

I hate HOAs ... the fees eat into your cash flow, fees can go up but won't go down, for what the fees are you could hire a gardener etc to give the same service on a property w/out HOA, they limit your ability to renovate (i.e you can't fix the exterior or add on to a condo), they may have now or in the future limits on using as a rental, you generally have less control over your investment and the land (which is really the valuable part of RE over the long term).

I was planning for 20k in renovation so my net cost will be 120 k and I can charge 1200 pm. 10-12% cap rate would be pretty decent

I have found a cap rate at about 11 percent in boston before renovations and we moved away because we wanted something higher.

(how much to spend on the house vs. renovations)Any specific website to search for fixer uppers?

If you look long and hard enough you can find duplexes once and a while for that price range in neighborhoods that rent higher, like Fishtown, but they will always need renovation.

sounds like a good deal, 7700 potential income, you would have about 380,000 mortgage when done (1800 - 2000 / month payments) then figure in your taxes, insurance, maintenance, PM, water / sewer, garbage and any utilities you may pay. keep the current tenants in so you have some cash flow and renovate each duplex and fill them one at a time until you do them all, this will keep your expenses down while building up the income, just let the people who will look at renting the new places that the rest will look the same, so they know they wont be living next to places that need work and not taken care of.

Hello,I am the co owner of a firm that specializes in New Custom Homes and Kitchen & Bath Renovations.

You can't do renovations, you need to hire someone to do it.

I spoke with a bank the other day about getting a HELOC for a renovation and they said that I need to live in the home while it is being renovated and it needs to be livable so I can not remodel the kitchen, can anyone tell me if this is true?