Multi-family properties are the best for buy and hold in Bakersfield because the price per square foot is lower then a comparable single family home (so they are cheaper to purchase) but you end up getting a lot more rental income because instead of collecting $1000/month on an average sized house, you collect three monthly rents of $700/month for an average sized unit in a triplex.  

Of course, it will be different in each market, however the average responses based on our own mailings as well as our customer feedback is where I am basing my opinion of a great response.Whatever route you decide to go, I wish you luck!

Sellers will defer maintenance, etc leading up to the sale of a property to make the numbers look better.The 50% rule states that 50% of your gross income will be consumed by operating expenses, on average. 

My margins in this area are significantly higher than rehab investment costs so If I can spend 4K in product to get 10K more in value then I great. 

If it's been renovated and in a good school district, you should never have more than one month of Vacancy on average every 2 years.6.

If the expenses are significantly lower than what the average multifamily properties pay I use my higher estimate instead. 

http://www.har.com/content/newsroomHouston Real Estate Highlights in April Single-family home sales declined a fractional 0.6 percent compared to last April;On a year-to-date basis, single-family home sales are up 1.6 percent;Total property sales declined 2.0 percent to 7,583 units;Total dollar volume fell 1.6 percent to $2.01 billion;At $278,544, the single-family home average price was down 1.0 percent compared to last April;The single-family home median price rose 3.3 percent year-over-year to an all-time April high of $217,000;Single-family homes months of inventory climbed to a 3.6-months supply versus 2.9 months a year earlier;Townhome/condominium sales fell 12.6 percent with the average price up 4.1 percent to $206,832 and the median price up 7.3 percent to $153,450;Leases of single-family homes leapt 18.1 percent with rents up 2.6 percent to $1,811;Leases of townhomes/condominiums soared 26.0 percent with rents down 1.7 percent to $1,574.

4.What is your average turn time on repairs and replacing a new tenant and how long are your units typically down?

That said, the rules are around because on average, they are the safeguards for where profits fall.

I think that's conservative......I spoke to a handful of REO brokers and they tell me that REO inventory is running at 50% of average volumes.