This means I likely won't be buying a killer deal, but I will still be paying a low-ish mortgage.

Maintenance  $3,000 - is that enough?

Hi,I am hiring a full time maintenance man to renovate and transform an apartment complex.

For example in washington DC the properties are mostly equity plays where cash flow is very low, but you go 45 minutes outside of DC and you are in it for cash flow.

The in-store, in-stock laminates are cheaper versions of the made to order, at least these days and at Lowes.

So I'll put two appraisals in front of our appraisal department head honcho dude, a normal one and a low quality one, and let him decide which is more credible (obviously this also doesn't work if the first appraisal was credible, done well, and the value just isn't there) and which opinion of value we will use.

If you are selling something high-end, you're probably not going to get away with all low-end beige and gray. 

There is some deferred maintenance at the complex but mostly okay. 

I am currently searching for my first property, but I am finding it a challenge to make it happen within 70% of the ARV(ARV found using the low end of comps).

What about maintenance costs?