Location, Location, Location...Is it that hard?

[Joey Rahman]

To all you real estate experts out there, I am looking for advice on where and what to invest in, given the following parameters

- 400K to invest. Open to bank loans for leverage

- Looking for Appreciation, and cash flow. More interested in Appreciation

- Long term Buy - hold. Start exiting after 10 yrs

- Wanna see clear signs of significant equity build up starting 5 yrs

- Looking for slightly positive cash flow, to be at peace. Anything over $200/month/property is good enough. -ve cashflow = anxiety

- Decent 4-8% CoC return for the first few years

- Have a steady non-real estate job 9-5 job that pays the bills. Not looking to quit in the next 7+years

What location and what kind of properties would you invest in?