They'll give you a sense of what Cap Rates different property classes are getting in your area.As far as property classes, here's how I think about it:A class: White collar/upper-upper middle class, higher-end finishes, very safe neighborhoods, good schools.

I am looking more for buy and hold investments with value add opportunity but am also open to a flip if it makes sense.

@Heather Wingenbach, I'm not sure I get the same sense of urgency regarding the need to sell the property fast.

(the down payment is completely relevant to the seller)Interest- 7% is pretty standard...it's a premium paid for consideration in carrying the noteAmortization- 30-years is typicalPayment- I would look for the actual P&I based on the amortization schedule, but again, this is relative to the sellerBalloon- 48-60 months is common, and this is completely up to the seller as well (If sellers are leary of the time frame, I always agree to attempt a re-finance sooner...but no guarantees)Some extras:I always pay the listing agent's commision based on the transaction price...otherwise, you can structure a partial commission the first closing and a second commission when the balloon is due...waiting 48-months for the rest of your commission is crazy, thoughWe pay all the doc prep fees (note/mortgage/amortization/assignments/personal guaranty) Typically around $300, so not bad.- use the attorney at title and add it to the HUD-1We use a clause in the note that waives the right to defend a foreclosure in default, so the property returns to the seller without contest (varies from state to state I imagine)We also pay the sellers closing costsAll of this stuff is negotiable...you can always push things with these...like lower the down payment and have the buyer pay all your clients fees and your commission, etc.Give me a shout if you want to chat more about this topic.

Is that common?

@Joe Garvin I think those lower occupancy numbers would make more sense in an area that's not a resort town.

If that's the case, it would make more sense to furnish those rooms over time like when we're ready to have kids down the road.

You can also look at the new build permit statistics by city to see where the building is ocurring and that will be key indicator as to which markets are growing rapidly. haven't thought about it like this, this makes a lot of sense. i was previously interested in a few cities in florida, then the growth forecast was looking good but the yields were lower then what it appears i can in indy. very interesting, guess i need to do some number crunching to see how the difference in yield can be compared to growth.

After college, I knew I wanted to pursue my law degree and I ended up back in CT because I missed my very large Italian family (also law school is f***ing expensive so financially it made a lot of sense).

Whereas if you ask another company which has fewer properties in that area or zip, you could get a lower rate since they don't have as many eggs in that basket.It does and it doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but I was told this by an insurance agent and eventually got my head around it.