Whether you do it through a bank, lender, hard money or private money there are items that you can't get out of.But the most important closing costs to be aware of are: Origination fee or broker fee (% of the loan amount) — Typically includes all the small fees charged by your lender or broker to set up the loanTitle insurance ($300-$2,500+) — Fees paid to check historical records and make sure the property can be legally transferred to youEscrow fees ($350-$1,000+) — Fees paid to a third-party “escrow company” that handles funds and facilitates the home sale Home appraisal ($500-$1,000+) — Fee to evaluate the home’s fair sale price or refinance value Prepaid taxes and insurance ($1,000-$4,500+) — Generally you pay six months to a year of property taxes and homeowners insurance in advance when you close When you buy a house, the closing costs typically fall between two and five percent of the sale price.

They get better rates and it seems like you really want a low rate.Rates are still historically low.

Historically, 5% is still really good.

My question is - do different cities tend to have different rehab issues, i.e. older and more historical cities tend to have more structural problems, coastal areas have their own issues due to climate?

Of course, this leads to a LOT of rejection, but that is what serious investors do.You may want to read our cut & paste eductional piece below:Beginning investors need to STOP believing all the fluff about rental investing, especially with the overheated real estate market trending to historic norms.

Also the 1% rule which is now historic and doesn’t apply to today’s market was usually only used for the purchase underwriting.

Higher rates make are pushing caps up, we will see where that goes - rates are usually lower at the end of a recession then at the beginning (by an average of 1.8% historically, but might be too optimistic this time)I am in the market right now for a larger project and would be perfectly fine with a 5 cap if its already stabilized, updated and well run.

I’m from Vancouver and invest all over the Mid West USA as well British Columbia and Alberta.

Historically, you did that math and it always made sense to refinance. 

Contact the utility provider and get an historical average based on the last year of use.