Is it typical to assume about 50% of gross income in expenses?

Sounds inexpensive if you are doing the work yourself.Thanks for letting us chime in-JoeG

IMPORTANT: I would stage the house with color in the kitchen & baths, (flowers, canisters, some nicely done drapes or blinds, etc) We stage our properties and we spend less than $500 - there are plenty of inexpensive materials to use for accents that don't cost much. 

Legally you can get the tenant out of the lowest rent unit (or any other unit) so you can move in albeit you will have to pay them a not so inexpensive relocation fee of $8k+ (factor this into your rehab budget) but when one day you decide to move out you can re-rent that unit at market rent which will then increase your cash flow and the value of the property. 

There are inexpensive ways to do this for your first deal.

There are reasons all owners do not improve their rental houses year over year, sometimes there is a demand for lower quality homes with inexpensive rents.

Let's assume they're in KC and the average rent collected is $1000 a month...That's 32,000 a month in revenue for a company that has 27,000 to 32,000 a month in expenses.  

What’s some inexpensive ways to repair or replace a walkway? 

Montpelier is still Montpelier but there are some inexpensive entry points for a first timer.  

Provided the preceding 12 months (or 11/12) were all paid no later than a certain date (i.e. 3rd):* Offer a low max rent escalator (1-2%) for lease renewals * Offer inexpensive but high perceived value items (i.e. big screen TV) for lease renewals * Provide a Winter Fuel Credit in December if tenants pay for heating fuel  * Offer a choice of unit upgrades that you may have been planning to do anyway (repaint, new appliance, ceiling fans, etc.)Mike