I think renters and buyers take off from Thanksgiving to Super Bowl, snow, cold, ice, dark at 5 pm and all the holidays, gift buying and lots of parties.

Railroad stocks drove the boom-bust cycle of the 1850s, but the Civil War put most economic speculation on ice for the duration.The Reconstruction era saw yet more booming and busting, culminating in the crash of 1879.

Here we get a few good months out of them and the rest of the year its basically a hole filled with nasty tepid water or ice so a lot of buyers might just see them as money pits. 

Remember, our retirement accounts charts should look like a hockey stick, not a straight 45 degree angle... that money doubles itself every 5-8 years... doesn't mean much when you have $10,000 in, but when you have hundred of thousand in it starts taking off.

STRs profits should be seen as an amazing icing on the cake.Thanks!

Income is currently more of a priority but of course, appreciation potential would be icing on the cake.  2) My wife and I currently own low rent residential property and though they have appreciated, Covid exposed us to a lot we had not experienced/expected. 

No worries...yes, it seems like a lot of investors starting out usually have around the $50k mark to get going...its a solid amount of capital to start with if you are looking at residential MF properties.Appreciation is market specific as a first filter, zip specific as a second filter, neighborhood specific to base decisions on, and block or street specific to actually get accurate.Appreciation is usually predictable, even though most folks consider it "icing on the cake"...it is important to consider.

You cannot discriminate against them because they've had 2 kids - you're walking on thin ice even mentioning it in here if they start doing a search on you - but the dogs are another matter altogether. 

@Cassandra Brown break the ice, ask a question getting to know them like why they like the area(if they can’t think a one or a few reasons why they like the area then it’s a strong signal they are just dangling the carrot)Or why they are they movingFor the pre screen and showings, once I can see they are motivated or wanted to apply i ask the tough questions but before all that I will askHow is your credit?

Construction has halted and my contractor has been forced to move to another project for the time being.To put some icing on the cake, the bank is still demanding I pay interest on the full amount of the loan including the construction escrow.