We've developed some steep lots and there's some things I wish I had known!

You need a good system, and standards, for a thorough inspection so you can develop good numbers.  

It adds up fast.On estimating other expenses for the Philly metro area, here are some ballpark numbers per unit per month that I use as starting points:- Water/sewer: $50-80 (if landlord-paid, which is common in older Philly multifamily)- Insurance: $80-120 per unit (get actual quotes — this varies a lot by neighborhood)- Property taxes: Pull from county assessor records — Lehigh County and Philadelphia have very different rates- Vacancy: 5-8% in those markets right now- Property management: 8-10% if you plan to outsource eventually (budget for it even if you self-manage — your time has value)One tip that saved me a lot of headaches early on: before you make offers, build a simple deal analysis template where you plug in purchase price, rent, and all these expense percentages.

Eventually, I resigned my commission, walked away from grad school and active duty after 13 years, and went full-time in real estate.Since then, I’ve worn a few hats:FlipperReal estate agentRental owner/operatorOff-market acquisitionsSmall land development and infillToday I’m in Boise doing high volume.

The past few weeks have involved a lot of back and forth between us and the new PMs, and unfortunately more issues have been developing.1.

They focus on quantity over quality, and take shortcuts in underwriting, maintenance, and reserves to achieve this goal.Those shortcuts eventually catch up with people.

That community grew into something special, and eventually we sold it to BiggerPockets, where it became PassivePockets.

Strategic hold vs. emotional hold.If your goal is to eventually return and use it as a retirement property, the decision becomes less about short-term cash flow and more about whether you’re comfortable subsidizing the asset for several years.4.

No claim that this produces “the answer” — just a way to make tradeoffs explicit.I eventually put this into a spreadsheet so I could sanity-check my own intuition.

When you eventually PCS, a buyer can assume your loan at whatever rate you locked in.