If you are a part-time landlord, you may be in for a rude awakening when it comes to capital expenditures for your rental(s). Often times, people who own rental property as an aside to their career come in to owning it without studying the long-term risks associated with owning investment property.
For example, you get married and move in with your spouse, but you hold onto your house and start to rent it out. It cash flows nicely, netting you around $400/month. Should you automatically act as if you're going to earn an extra $5k/year? Of course not! No matter how high your profit margins are to make that $400/month, the $4,800/year.