Only a portion is PMI.Personally I think the answer about your time horizon is the best: if you wont be selling in 5 years, then it's safe to put less down.

Do you think it is possible to invest /develop/ compound this portfolio to the top i.e hundreds of millions/dare i say billion - I am 30 years old so have a considerable time horizon to compound returns ahead of me2.

Do you think it is possible to invest /develop/ compound this portfolio to the top i.e hundreds of millions/dare i say billion - I am 30 years old so have a considerable time horizon to compound returns ahead of me2.

I am looking at a property that looks good and the math works, but it's a little more expensive than the last few properties I've looked at, and  although I have enough available for a 20% down payment, I'm hesitant to tie up most of my liquid cash into one deal, especially if the market might be getting soft soon and there might be good opportunities on the horizon.

This was a deal I believed was good and profitable, and as of now have not seen any trouble in the horizon.

Then back out those goals to achieve them within the time horizon you're looking for.

I'm curious to hear how people think about this.  When you set criteria such as monthly cash flow of $100/unit, for example, do you expect this to be the minimum cash flow for every year of the deal or the average cas...

What is your grand horizon and retirement look like...

For those who can forgo monthly cash flow the purchase and long horizon sales of appreciating assets is huge as you've discovered.  

If you buy right and plan on holding the property for a long time horizon, you'll more than likely be fine.