@Michael Zack extremely common in MA due to all of the colleges/univs where parents pay. 

Hi Ryan,I don't have any of your paperwork, so the below is speculation about common causes for this type of confusion.- Lenders do not preapprove for loan amount, they preapprove for purchase price after validating that you have the necessary down payment, etc.

Common cabinet options and vendors based on current styles and ROI figures(data collected from Realtor's across the country to back up designer's choices) Same would go for Bathroom fixtures, counter tops, hardware and appliances.

I think getting in there and replacing toilet flushers, faucets, etc for low flow ones would be a good start as well as checking for leaks (drippy laundry tub faucet or exterior spigot is pretty common)

Is there a standard or common term of amortization?

As a list broker I know that people  will definitely call to complain if they have the feeling that you are in with Big Brother (maybe you're too young to get that reference)You might talk about this the same way you would with almost any audience: home ownership can be a big responsibility with the expense and maintenance....

I have no knowledge of how that works.Vacancy (10%)Repairs & Maintenance (5%)CapEx (6%)Management Fees (0%)- I’ll be learning from this property, but hope to handle management alone.Future Assumptions: Ultra ConservativeAnnual Income Growth: 1%Annual PV Growth: 1%Annual Expense Growth: 1%This results in $573 in net cash flow per month, which sounds good.

@Suki Su it all depends on the party from whom you borrow, I would budget 25% of the total amount that you need to borrow as I believe that is what you’ll find most commonly but again it all depends on the lender

Last Monday the head of refinery maintenance asked me if I had a place for one of his guys. 

Yeah, on the face, discount properties seem like the way to go, but then comes the maintenance, tenant problems, and that equals little profit.