Buyer Beware, Caveat Emptor and such

It's summertime and the living is...limited inventory.  Alas, the days of a crashing market, when the living were caught in fire sales.  

It's all blue skies these days, or so it might appear from the bright, picture perfect one behind the new duplex listing that just came in at $280k in the largely desirable 80906 zip code of SW Colorado Springs. Yes, the possibility of $140k a door for a set of 3/1/1 with $2.2k gross rent in an area synonymous with the Broadmoor was quite the rainbow topping but, not so fast grasshopper. 

Located in a pocket affectionately dubbed less than desirable (something only a local expert would know ;), a comparable unit rented for $795 15 days ago, $895 in 7/2016 for an exciting 3% Return on Equity, -1% Cash on Cash return, and declining. 

Yes, my calculator returned ERR, too.