My goal is to show as high of income as possible to buy real estate without paying excessive taxes. 

I was making in excess of $150,000 annually without going out the door and with no reduction of principal.

The market crash was fueled by poor lending practices; homeowners biting off way more debt than they could afford with adjustable products that increased the debt burden above their income. 

You would have negative cash flow and your great investment income property would be a major liability.Nothing wrong with hoarding excess cash when you are filthy rich but in your situation this would be a serious mistake.

Some things to look out for are the fees. environmental fees, excessive weight fees, another trick of the industry is billing cycles. some will bill monthly so you are billed 12 times a year others may bill every 4 weeks so you get billed 13 times a year (52 weeks/4= 13 bill)based on my experience the big guys tend to play ball and kill on volume to shut out little guys. also these little guys rely on the big guys station to dump, so they charge a base fee and mark it up or put add on to make money.

If a tenant is fixing to go out it can be less time as the landlord is already negotiating an LOI and then an executed lease with the tenant.Larger spaces big box can sit for awhile but those are rarely built new today mainly re-purposed.In some cold belt states net migration away produces excess inventory and with no growth then other tenants aren't lined up to take the space.Most of my clients are buying in high growth warm belt states even if they live in cold belt.

Probably puts the portfolio in excess of several million dollars.

It was amazing to look through the abstract and to see how the people who owned it before it went into foreclosure had borrowed in excess of $75,000 on it.  

Land lords and investors prepared will take advantage of the excess inventory and price dip to buy.Oil changed the economy forever...Dot com changed the economy forever...The boomer retirement changed the economy forever...The millennials are changing the economy forever...Not so much!

Audiobooks and the BP podcasts have been my fuel.