I believe that interest rates will decline--probably to the 4's--as they did after World War 2, and stay there for many years.An absolutely GREAT newsletter is John Mauldin's "Thoughts from the Frontline."

I think we'll see prices fall dramatically while rents remain relatively flat.In this area, vacancies are declining.

Continued declines seem far more likely.

Example is huge repairs, bad neighborhood, huge decline in market value.See if you can meet some buyers that might be interested, and negotiate the short for them if you have the expertise.

Even with the decline in RE values, they still cash flow.

One can investigate probable ranges in rental growths/decline by looking at the past history and looking ahead at certain market indicators.

Your assessment is typically NOT automatically adjusted in the event of a market decline.

Even in a good market, I won't pay more than 70% for a rental and I certainly wouldn't pay 75% in a declining market.Next, let's look at cash flow.

You don't want to end up upside down if you have a small decline in values.

Some areas are level, some increasing slightly, others are declining, and others are sinking.Just my $.02