Use your initial purchases as case studies of how you can effectively manage their money and expectations responsibly.

In practice, they tend to:Anchor heavily to in-place NOIGive partial, not full, credit for projected rent increasesRequire clear evidence that the higher NOI is achievable and sustainableDeferred maintenance and condition usually show up through adjustments or effective NOI assumptions rather than a big swing in cap rate.

Saving $500–$1,000 a month on housing through a house hack is effectively a tax-advantaged cash flow.I’d stay as flexible as you can on location, focus on a small multifamily you can comfortably live in and manage, and treat the first deal as education plus foundation, not a home run.

That is in effect what you are doing and f you do not include PM fees in your underwriting.Your maintenance/cap ex fees is likely too low by a factor of 2.You are missing the misc charges like asset protection, bookkeeping/accounting/tax man, utilities due to property issues such as by a slab leak, legal/evictions, etc.The 50% rule is aggressive at this rent point and projects $82/month of cash flow.  

A few free, simple things that helped a lot:• Google Calendar with Tasks or Reminders tied to lease dates• Standard templates in Google Drive for utilities and move in or move out checklists• A basic Google Sheet to track key dates so nothing slips• Google Forms to collect tenant info once instead of chasing paperwork• Sending tenants calendar invites or emails with their move in tasksNot fancy, but very effective without spending money.

Strong follow-up (most contracts come after multiple touches)Direct-to-seller still works well here, but only when the list itself is solid — probates, pre-probates, tax delinquents, code violations, absentee owners, etc. tend to convert better than broad high-equity lists.Driving for Dollars + skip tracing is still effective too, especially in older neighborhoods around Hampton Roads.If you’d like, I’m happy to share what types of lists and strategies investors in your area are having success with — just from my experience supporting people doing flips/new construction.Curious — which areas of Hampton Roads are you targeting most right now?

I will continue to analyze deals and educate myself daily, however, those activities have more of an indirect effect on my portfolio. 

Patience and diligence early on will help you scale effectively.

Now we just need to fill them all up, and take all the spillover to what was here already and then get some rent increaes.Plenty of big players here...and small ones too.MF investor meetup groups are pretty active here and there are plenty of people like Brad Sumrok doing trainings for a very effective price if you want to drink education from a fire hydrant.MF covers a whole lot of different things....some things to watch out for here are old buildings with central boilers for hot water, central AC coolers, flat roofs, AC units on the top of 3 story buildings or higher, corroded sewer pipes. 

By asking these questions, you can gauge the professionalism and reliability of a property manager, ensuring that you choose someone who will effectively manage your investment.Thank you for outlining these points — this is genuinely helpful.