I don't know what a good vacancy rate is as opposed to a bad one.. but if your managing 2k to 10k houses I suspect your always have some manner of vacancy.. the main take away for me is you simply cannot buy property in the "cash flow markets" were your buying in the lower third of the economics of a given MSA.. those are just tough for whatever reason history has proved this.. most of the buyers have only them selves to blame here.. they are all mesmerized about COC returns and take risk they just don't understand.. then they blame the tenant and the asset.. when in fact its their own choices that lead to the inevitable in low value asset or bottom third in price point in a MSA..

@Stephen Akindona - I'll be sure to check them out and get a bid from them for me client.

As this will be untraveled territory for me an experienced agent is a must.

That's been a great source of leads for me.  

One thing that is a struggle for me is that I did not make sure everything was perfect prior to renting my properties.

I knew that one bad tenant and/or one extended expensive turnover could ruin that meager cashflow for a year or even two.I think situations like that are better suited for investors with extremely well-paying w2 jobs and/or other forms of income. 

I have been considering forming an LLC and I'm unsure which one to go by. 

The upside for me when these tenant's lose it and lash out is that I know I am in their head and I have the upper hand.  

The single family home was purchased at close to retail value and would say ARV is around $300k-$325k with $10k-$15k invested into the rehabWould a HELOC be a smart option for me to use from my primary residence?

Risk free for me, huge risk for you.