Let's say 10 years in, you get deployed to <insert random combat theater where you have no internet access and limited phone access at best> and you have 30 properties at this point spread across the country.

You could combat that with value-add of course, but I have no knowledge of your market and how much room there is to raise rents.

But to combat that notion, and to ease my worries about properties dropping in value, I said to myself I will be buying more than 1 property over my lifetime (my goal would be to have around 15 doors) so my buying period is probably 30 years.

To combat this, I simply pass on homes that I don't feel will be suitable for a transient population. 

As it states, Q1 2018 vs Q1 2017.Not sure what the combative tone is all about, but it's not necessary.  

But I would wait for Seattle and other hot markets to stabilize, the city government are morons - for example almost passing 150$/head tax to combat rampant homelessness.

If I had a tenant with a dog I would make them sign a pet addendum of course, however it is a different scenario because they would own the dog, not me.Not trying to be combative with you, just trying to understand your thought process.

I knew the downsides of this type of investment but felt that our natural tendencies to over analyse everything needed to be combated by a swift decision and action. 

I’m a U.S Air Force combat Vet and an investor and licensed Realtor here in DFW.

One way to combat that is to hide the 1031.