You got to exercise these muscles; step into a potential deal, work through presenting PA, running and re-running analysis, dialing things in, hammering out negotiations, offer, counter offer, AND find out what you were versing in the end and why it all came out the way it did. 

All that means is you've got bring your best to all aspects of the property and the listing itself -- location, furnishings, photography, heck, even the listing headline all matter a lot.At the risk of pitching here, my wife's YouTube is filled with a ton of great MTR content on setting up a listing.

What you’re experiencing is completely normal, real estate analysis takes time until you build muscle memory with the numbers.

For me, I tackle rent increase at the onset of a lease.

I wish you the best of luck on this journey.Also, congrats on setting a clear goal and getting started with real estate investing, it’s a great long-term strategy.

Most will say no, but you'll learn deal evaluation fast and build that "investor mindset" muscle.

It's like a muscle... the more that you use it, the more you'll be able to wrap your brain around it and set the intended parameters.

That converts theory into muscle memory quickly and exposes the real gaps.

As a freelancer, it’s often still transactional or volume-driven.What I’m exploring is a model where that same skillset is applied exclusively to one investor or a very small number of partners, with underwriting standards, buy box, and incentives tied directly to that investor’s long-term performance, not deal count or speed.In other words, same muscles, different alignment.Totally agree with you though: if someone is good at this, they should make good money.

@Nicholas Aiola --Good evening - quick question regarding a post I made on setting the Dwelling basis for depreciation:   --Purchased first duplex - Early April 2018 - $369,000 - California- New Tax Assessment received assumes $143,541 (Land) and $225,459 (Fixtures)  = Roughly 39% Land/61% Dwelling Given the higher value of land in California, am I to just use the $225k figure (+loan costs at closing) as my basis?