It's a machine to dig up opportunities, similar to a freight train.

You get the benefits of cashflow and ownership and if you find the right partner, you could be the money behind the machine.

Enter new to home buying guy and wife looking to buy a home in San Antonio to live in then rent out.Home listed for $220k it was a flip and was purchased for $60k less than a year ago.Exterior looks wonderful, inside looks great.Original 100yr+ hardwood floors, everything looks very shiny.As we are walking around we start flipping switches, flushing toilets etc.One toilet in particular makes a very gurgly sound that doesn’t seem right and some hall lights don’t work.Our RE agent is all about telling us to hire a General Inspector which will cost about $400 to inspect the property and tell us if anything needs to be fixed.As we look around we start to see more problems.There is a place in the roof where the roof has raised away from the house leaving a sizeable hole to the attic.There is no drip edge along the roof.The breaker box has empty slots in it that let us see into the drywall.Knowing this was a flip we investigated on another Texas State website to look at all the filed permits for the new electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and roofing, and got nothing.No permits filed at that house.Red flag?

Im not running a profit generating machine.  

Once you have the machine humming and the leads consistently coming in, you can cherry pick the best opportunities and flip them yourself, or hold on to them as rentals. 

Had them replace the washing machine and repair the AC and both times were smooth.

In terms of some basics to know, I'd say 1. make sure any laundromat you consider buying is in a great location with renters in the area and good visibility2. know the condition of the machines, plumbing, electrical and boiler before you buy3.

Universities champion them because they’re cash cows for business schools - how do you think they paid for that marble flooring and Starbucks vending machine?  

In addition to what was shared by others and based on the raw experience of another BPer, if the property has a coin-op laundry, find out if the machines are sold to you with the property or if there is an outside company leasing the laundry and doing business there.When we bought our 8-plex with existing tenants, one of the tenants asked to see our ID and proof that we were the new owners before she would talk to us or let us inspect in her home.

I was also able to add parking rent for 3 spots as all 3 tenants requested extra assigned parking slots.