Did you want something "passive" that would supplement your current 8-5 job?

, and listening to the podcasts, you should definitely get some REI books to read so you can supplement all that.

From what I was told by some insurance brokers is that, at least on the west coast, earthquake insurance is offered as a supplemental option and the policies I received costs several hundred a month.  

Market appreciation continues to help offset budget overages Buying Costs $4,000 $14,267 $10,267 Offered to pay the tax lien in my offer Holding Costs (8 months - this incl loan i pmt) $21,869 $25,223 $3,354 Supplemental tax, utility costs higher than expected Selling Costs $22,350 $23,550 $1,200 HOA fees drove costs Total Fixed Costs $48,219 $63,040 $14,821 Delta largely due to tax lien Finish Materials $20,000 $22,924 $2,924 Counters & flooring drove addl costs Labor / Equip / Build Materials $47,263 $56,898 $9,635 Contractor costs higher than fcst.

Supplemental heat kicks in when heat pump can't keep up - this increases electrical costs.  

LOL Lots of work involved in that route.Have you considered supplementing your portfolio with commercial real estate?

As of now, we see ourselves as buying about 5 rental properties and holding for about 30 years to supplement income.

I feel one of the best ways to do that, is to supplement what you're learning here with reading real estate investing books.

If your goal is to supplement income (or lack of), you may want to consider what the Principal and interest portion of your new mortgage to see if that is going to be helpful enough to bridge you through unemployment.

My plan is to build a solid foundation of cash flowing properties as a safety net supplemented by an occasional 1031 flip to supercharge my equity (I'd rather not take the big tax bite from traditional short term flipping).