I had a very lengthy phone call with Evolve and discovered many of both the pros and cons that you mentioned. 

(I just discovered this awesome community, and this is my first post!)

You can discover them by studying comparable properties in the market and talking to local owner-operators and/or property managers.  

I can be a bit patient and so can my tenant. 11/30 - The tech comes in as scheduled, and when he takes the dishwasher out of the box, we discover there is a huge dent on the door- like it was used as a punching bag by Mike Tyson damage. 

Love to connect and see what opportunity we can discover. 

These prepackaged trusts tend to have fatal flaws in many applications.

Whoever came up with the term "passive income"... is a genius and has helped many people discover Real Estate Investing in the sexiest way possible.

Like what can I include in my contingencies so that if during my due diligence period I discover that the numbers don't work out or seller fails to support it with proof to prevent myself from losing my deposit? 

The issues I discovered by talking to my realtor who was also a veteran is that the VA has stringent rules and codes that can cause delays in closing.

I did just discover she was paying for electric, garbage, and water, so perhaps that was baked into the slightly higher rent she has claimed to obtain.I also spent quite a bit of time following the "Guide to Estimating ARV" that I found on BP, which allowed me to do my own comp work.