Are you on the hook for electric & gas or just water/sewer?

Bad roofs3. leaking shower pans.Just to name a fewDon

Check for roof leaks, aged shingles, missing shingles etc.

If you are building a highway or gas plant, this looks like a solid company to contact.

If you can get into the crawlspace or basement area with a flashlight, look for rotted framing members or water leaks.

Even if it drains towards the house, it shouldn't be leaking in.

FYI--it sold to the last owner before the peak for $550k.5-plex in a B-/C+ area. 5 electrical & gas meters, 1 water meter.Purchase price $375kCurrently fully rented at $3550Monthly Expenses:Prop. taxes $406 (1.3%)Pool $110 (per seller)Gas $75 (per seller)Trash $102 (per seller)Water/sewer $63 (per seller)Electric $312 (per seller but this seems twice as high as other props)Insurance $100 (my estimate)Gardener $100 (my est)Prop mgr $350 (my est)Vacancy $350 (my est)TOTAL EXPENSES: $1968I'll put 25% down at 4% fixed for 5 years, amortized over 25 yrs.P&I: $1484The rents are pretty good but the expenses seem high however every multi-family I look at has high expenses.

Not that anyone ever companied about more cash, but I don't need money to put gas in the car or food on the table (set for 1).

I live in the Washington DC area and now own two condos, both positive cash flowing, one at +$340 (cash/cash @ 11%) and the other at +$330 (cash/cash @ 8%).A friend in NC alerted me of a deal on a fourplex (not on market) but here are the specs:Price: $240kCurrently fully rented at $2100/month (four each at $525 -- other identical fourplexes rent for $550, so I should be able to squeeze an extra $100 within a year).Monthly Costs:Electricity: $20 (just for some common area lighting -- each unit has its own separate meter for electricity and gas)Prop taxes: $90Water: $125Garbage: $50Septic: $30 (Costs about $1000 and need to do it once/3 years)Landscape: $50 (my estimate)Manager: $100Insurance: $100So total monthly costs are $565Assuming I can finance 75% on a 30 fixed note @ 5%, P+I should be $966.

I'm getting $825 per month with the tenants paying gas/electric and taking care of the lawn care.Overall, it's a great deal, but it did come up at a bad time as I was trying to rent out both units in a duplex and I still have another single-family home waiting in the wings for me to rehab.