Higher cap rates be damned, not all things can be measured with cap rates...I'd much rather buy an A or B building.

My problem is that while I've made a lot of money on real estate in the last 5-7 years, I've done a very poor job of measuring my successes and failures. 90% of my success has been pure luck.

I just want to make sure that there aren't any red flags that I'm missing, and that I have a decent sense of the mechanics of the process.Also, I'd like to learn more in general so if anyone has recommendations for other investors, or professionals/attorneys who would be willing to talk for a reasonable fee, with experience in the following areas I'd very much like to connect:- DC foreclosure law, and the treatment of personal possessions remaining in a foreclosed home- DC landlord tenant law and the eviction process- Title searches and other due diligence measures (specific to DC) - Ideally I'd like to sit down with someone who does this for a living and walk through title search and other checks that one would do prior to buying a foreclosure.Thanks in advance and look forward to any thoughts or insights!

so i currently help out with a friends rehab. the house has had some problems that we have fixed including paint work inside and outside, knocking down a wood garage in the back to create a new lot, plumbing leaks, electrical work, baseboards for heating.I have been very hands on, doing painting myself, finding multipe people to quote each job needed, knocking down the garage myself with a sledge hammer and also cutting trees myself with a chainsaw.i have noticed that some things are 1000x cheaper for me to do myself. for example i had a quote on how much it would cost to take some small trees down, the contractor wanted 100$ a tree, the total would of been 5k plus, so i went and bought a chainsaw and did it all for under 200.another example, I wanted some base boards replacing on one of the bottom floors, one plumber quoted $6,500 another quoted $1,600. now its easy for me to save money this way as this is only one building, so for you guys that have 50+ units, what measures are you taking to make sure that you're not being had by these contractors quoting crazy high prices?

So it will be hard to get consistent numbers that are measurable to the renter.Then there is the fact that the panels on the roof are just another thing that can break/leak/blow away/get stolen/god knows what else.

I want to check out the ROI & safety of having out of state investment properties. 

@Dante Murphy I just see much more value and safety in diversifying my approach to real estate.

In addition to.... going through an attorney, an escrow company (that makes the payments to the bank on their behalf, a HUGE safety net for all involved, plus it helps the buyer even further to get qualified) and... putting my buyer in touch with a mortgage broker who puts them on a path of accountable & tractable credit repair.

I am thinking to rekey the door for safety, any one suggest to simply duplicate the existing key? 

(so there's a little bit of margin of safety there)Does this sound plausible?