BP calculator help...

[Matt B.]

I have been following Brandon Turner’s advice to analyze at least one property a day but also trying to be realistic and stay in the higher end of all of my estimates. A few questions I keep coming across: 1. I live in NY so everything is more expensive but also looking to invest in the Northeast. Every personal home I have bought the closing costs are always much higher than the $1500-2500 the calculator suggests, what are your typical closing costs on rentals or flips and how do you manage them? Seller pays, etc.? 2. What is realistic for vacancy, repairs/maintenance, CapEx and management? I have been keeping them relatively “high” at 10% (I see some saying 5-8% depending) to build in a cushion for anything below but at 10% the cash flow on most properties is gone. Does that just mean it’s not a good investment? Should I build that in to a lower offer price? I know not to adjust my numbers to make them less realistic to “find” cash flow but what is typical and does it change in a higher cost part of the country?