It can also be a significant factor in retaining tenants who value convenience and time-saving solutions.

I think you have made a great and relevant observation.

Perhaps this is higher CF areas that have ridiculously cheap prices, and not a perfect rule… but it is my observation that there are places that stay super flat on price or value growth, and the CF exists simply because the purchase prices are really low, not because there is job growth, wage growth, population growth etc…  It is harder to look for CF + appreciation but it is consistently possible to find. 

While I have limited experience in real estate, I have much experience in office support; including social media marketing management, website creation and managed a few customer service teams, dealing with retaining and bringing in new clients in various fields.

If you have been prudent in screening and had no evictions as part of your acceptance criteria, then the threat of pursuing eviction can be enough to get your tenant to actually pay the last month of rent when due so that the security deposit is retained to cover damages.I also follow the practice of an initial lease of other than 12 months in order to have leases end in months where it is preferable to find tenants.

It may be worth mentioning I have to add on a retaining wall to the property this year that will cost about $60k.

@Eric WittenburgYour observations aren't unusual.

My observation with our duplex market is that cashflow is actually relatively similar across the different markets, because for the most part higher rents make up for higher PITI.

Parts of this permit process are public hearings and those are scheduled when they are scheduled, not when they best fit into your timelines.All that said, because of all these restrictions, the HDs are well kept and retain great value, so if you managed to snag a deal, it will be worth it in the long term.  

Finally, and this is IMPORTANT: Retain full control over the design details!