And go: Expect it to take twice as long, and cost twice as much as you presume.Don't pay your contractors in full up front.Get your electrician and plumber in there on day two (after demo).  

An out of control litigious society, and the things that really eat up modern family wealth have nothing to do with what consumers would expect.

If you are close you may want to reach out to lenders and just talk to them, also getting in the habit of daily analysis will help you learn the city and what to expect in terms of returns. 

I wasn't expecting the variable rate, but heard this from two lenders. 

However if it is not listed don't expect a realtor to help you unless you offer to pay them.

You will need some money to start and some of your expectations may be a bit high depending on where you want to invest and how you plan to finance a property.

We are currently renting, and looking to possibly start with a house hack (though affordable multi-family properties are few and far between in LA, so we aren't expecting our prospecting process to be short). 

@Dan Barli Class is as expected, erring on the side of caution is the curriculum, but not very productive for investing in rentals.

If the roof repair costs roughly $7,000, is there any average increase in home value I can expect?

Let me know what you think.I have considered Expenses as:Vancancy, (3 units currently vacant)Cap Ex (likely to need to roofs soon, HVACs are newish, unsure of water heaters)Maintenance (assume 6% to keep up the property, will adjust after inspection)Lawn Care (currently $300/mo. assume I can keep that contract.)Taxes (Currently $3100)Insurance (not sure what to expect, guessing 1200/property)Flood Ins: Not needed in this areaThanks in advance BP community,Winn and Kaitlin Merwin