New to the whole process and I have been running numbers to try and get a feel for whether or not a deal is going to work out.  I recreated a spreadsheet to layout expenses and overall return and starting just plugging in numbers from Zillow on properties in the Harrisburg PA (front and second street) areas.  I assumed that I would find very few deals that would work out as everyone talks about how hard it is to find cash flow of +$200 per month for properties and most of their deals happen as a result of a special situation where they were able to pay like 1/2 the asking price.

However I am seeing like 5-6 properties in the 50k range that should rent for about $850 per month (again right off of Zillow). Some would likely need some refurb and I would avoid anything requiring over 10k in work, but even with this assumption I am still showing upwards of 15% COC for the first year alone and upwards of 25% if you include appreciation and any added value from improvements.

Am I missing something important like high vacancy rates or some other reason why I would not immediately want to move on these properties?  Is there a good online resource where I can verify rental rates and vacancy in the area?  I did a general Google search and did find some demographics sites that did confirm the Zillow numbers but not at the specific property/address level.

It just seems like I am totally missing something as it appears there are deals all over the place.

Here's a screen shot of my calcs.  Can anyone tell me if something appears amiss?  Are my expenses too low?  I swagged some of the percentages but overall tried to hit the 50% rule.