I'm a new investor and planning to purchase my first rental property next year around spring time.

Still need reserves for roof, appliances, hot water heater, hvac, bath and kitchen remodel.etc.Unlikely insurance is $25 per month and taxes will go up as you improve the property.

Property cash flows :- $380 month minus P T I, vacancy, management fees, capEx, water, sewer, 2 loan pts just in case.Location fits my buy criteria and I like the deal . 

Experts please suggest on new construction SFH 4B/2B in NW Cape Coral FL, out of state investor0.724 PROJECTED RENT / PRICE RATIO,  Cash Flow of under $100, Appreciation ~8%(as per realtors around)Septic Tank, Well water 20K future cost to connect  with city sewer&water

For example, often fire damage is water damage--they put the red stuff out with wet stuff.

The conservative way to budget Capex reserves is to look at estimated remaining useful life of each item: roof, siding, windows, kitchen, HVAC, water heater, bathroom, fences, gutters, chimney linings/tuckpointing, foundation items, etc, and assigning a replacement cost divided by remaining useful life.  

. $800 a month can be eaten up by a bad water heater, replacing an appliance, roof leak, etc.

Once you buy one, you'll probably buy more.Some suggestions:1) Us Quickbooks and set up Classes for each property and subclasses for each unit. 2) Scan EVERYTHING to either Google Drive or Dropbox. 3) Create a consistent folder-tree convention, example:   Main_123 (property address with street name first)   -General Property Info   --Insurance   --Property Taxes   --Title Docs   --LLC DOcs   --Purchase Docs   --Loan Docs-Utilities-Maintenance-Leases   --Folder (LastName_FirstInitial)-Advertising-Rental License-InspectionsAppliances & Mechanicals (pics, model tags, warranties, etc)4) Create list of consistent naming conventions for files so you don't have to open themExample: yyyy-mm-dd Main_123 Water Bill mm-dd to mm-dd $xx.xx               Lease Main_W_123_#unit (LastName_1stInitial) $RentAmount EXP yyyy-mm-dd5) Create a great lease by reviewing several from online, then have attorney review for compliance with state & local laws.

Mine has roof, floors, hvac, appliances, hot water heater, bath and kitchen remodel, exterior paint or siding, driveway, etc.

Gutters will help prevent more water from splashing up on the siding I am guessing.