It's possible the previous owner didn't have a mortgage to pay and simply didn't ever see the need to increase his rents with the market.

I'm not simply looking at a snapshot of the present rent and dividing it by the purchase price although this is better than nothing, It is not sufficiently sophisticated for me to make smart decisions as to which properties to purchase.

The huge demand for medical laboratory commercial space in the Greater Boston region is astounding.I'm looking for fellow commercial professionals who have utilized any specific calculators/software to analyze commercial deals.I'm not simply looking at a snapshot of the present rent and dividing it by the purchase price although this is better than nothing, It is not sufficiently sophisticated for me to make smart decisions as to which properties to purchase.I'm looking for a tool tool that can quickly take all factors into account such as mortgage interest and depreciation allowances to work out the true effect of our returns.I know it's impossible to expect any piece of software to give me a green or red light with regard to property acquisition.And realize a deal is good depending largely on the circumstances of the investor.

As a buyer, an agent is free as sellers typically pay commissions; however, I'd say the price of a good agent is simply action.

Even though that area is not directly exposed to outside, as a general question, is it an opening to the house (hole, crack, etc.) that causes ants or is it food sources in the house that causes ants?

Our rental market here in western WA is so hot and short of inventory that we can just put up a quick ad on Craigslist and expect multiple inquiries that we then run through third-party credit checks.My earlier comment simply came out of years of experience in Minnesota where casual insulation of plumbing can prove costly.

Now, if you were to find something BIG during that inspection that was going to be a nightmare if you purchased the property, what you could do, is simply walk away from the deal and the Seller would just keep your earnest money deposit.

There should be wood panels that will match the cabinets, or get some panels that are decorative to fit in the space around the frig hole after you put in a used one that sort of fits. 

Or would I be better off simply trying to partner up with someone who can co-sign on the deal?

It's a sure path to failure. if you're goal is cash flow and you live in a high cost market which is any where in the Bay Area, you really don't have a choice but to go out of state, otherwise you're just trying to pound a square peg in to a round hole.