Questions about this
What is a good cap rate in the Charleston area?
Cap rate is net operating income divided by price, and it prices risk rather than quality. The stable, close-in submarkets trade at lower cap rates because the income is more certain, and the higher cap rates further out come with longer vacancies and more turnover. A number that looks unusually high is usually telling you something about the area or the condition, not about your luck.
Why include maintenance when the house is new?
Because the roof, the HVAC and the water heater all have a replacement date, and setting nothing aside for them does not remove the cost, it just moves it into a year you did not plan for. Spreading capital expenditure across every month is the only way the cash flow figure means anything over a ten-year hold.