In fact every one of my purchases after my first has done better in virtually all benchmarks.  

There must be a threshold, benchmark, or something when a lawyer is going to review the evidence and say, "Oh yeah, we're about to take these people to the CLEANERS!" 

If the stock market is the benchmark for passive - put money in and let it grow - then RE investing is FAR from passive I mean just going from the top - you have (1) finding deals, (2) analyzing deals (3) getting lending (4) inspecting and coming up with a scope for the rehab (5) meeting contractors and overseeing work (6) managing or putting a PM in place. 

We use company’s data to estimate revenue percentiles, but I still recommend looking at our comps table to Benchmark similar properties and their revenue. 

That will give you a benchmark to meet.Ultimately, determine your WHY.

This is even more true if is section 8, where the rents are inflated normally by being benchmarked to some metric that includes higher rent properties but where the property prices to buy are still depressed because well its not a great area. 

I am not suggesting you buy there, but it is a good benchmark to compare to. 

Regarding the 1% 2%,  3% ...rule- It's great to understand these rules but you should eventually establish your own finance ROI benchmarks & hurdle rates.  

So I would go and look at recently sold properties and see where that benchmark is.

It might be a good bench mark for me to know whats realistic Sorry I haven't been on here in a while nor answered your question.Well in my market rentals go for $160-300k/ unit depending on the submarket and if it's a newer build, value-add or rehab.So it's very difficult to say and it depends on your own personal finances.But for buy and hold I've purchased 22 units in 2016, 6 units in 2017, and a few in 2018 and 12 u in 2019 Some were local Los Angeles County and some are in SE Florida.I also sold several properties in LA last year, some were hybrid hold/flips and more development deals...Also asking how many units could be completely different in a market like OKC or Utah where you can likely get units cheaper, OR the market might not have larger apartments, unless it's in a larger metro like Salt Lake.. so it really depends.