My wife and I feel electric is more dangerous because the surface could be hot long after you turn it off and you are more likely to burn food because you cannot control the temperature as well.We see valid points on both sides of the argument so would like to know what you all have in your rentals and for what reasons?

Before I had my list of steady contractors I used a couple of those guys to provide quotes.

My personal opinion - buy and hold is a lot less scary because the numbers are much more steady.  

If they were comfortable with a moderate but steady return I would go buy and hold with an equity position.

I've been using the same company for five years, but the last year or so has been a steady downward spiral of bad communication, poor service, and now almost zero effort on rerents of vacant units. 

We can easily get another $100 from each unit per month, but I like the slow and steady approach of increasing it.

We have been purchasing single family homes in cash around Denver and Colorado Springs and have kept a steady pace of about 15-20 deals per month.  

So that type of asset you can have wild swings in vacancy and stunted rent growth on a down cycle.One of the the great things about commercial is set leases with steady increases with national credit tenants so you know what you are getting regardless of the cycle.

I have focused on one neighborhood of the city that I believe will have a steady rent and is fairly affordable and am direct mailing them religiously!

But now that it's over,the fight begins to find that next client.There is so much to learn and so much to do that it seems overwhelming.You have to accept that it's going to take time and instead of trying to do a ton of things at the same time,pick one or two tasks per day and devote the time to getting those done.Small and steady steps will keep you moving forward,that's the game plan.I need to build a website that clients will enjoy seeing and using.I have to reach out and touch every person I know or use to know and still talk to on Facebook.I'm planning on a lot of lunches and dinners with former high school classmates and fellow employees from my previous career of 20 years.