(He/she just may or may not have enough "dry powder", at any give time, to buy them all)2.

Free and clear seems the way to be safest against both scenarios, but less "dry powder" and lower risk, lower return.

Wow, sounds like a great way to get into a house for nothing, while keeping some powder dry on the side @Brian Volland.The only other thing that might be a useful metric would be to do present value calculations on the portion of cash flow that you would effectively hold in reserve for future CapEx, rainy day funds, etc.

One person said look out for powder post beetles as that is a main cause of lightness in this area.

Hello Everyone, New to whole real estate thing. I'm looking to learn from the best and expand my network of friends. Looking forward to hearing from you guys.Thanks, Steven

Being self employed I'm not actively searching for another deal, but I'm keeping some dry powder just incase. 

If you are in the rental game, then I would suggest keeping some powder dry for future buying opportunities. 

I needed a vent fan put into a powder room to get a CO this week.

Be sure to follow the directions on the package for dissolving the powder in hot water.

Upgrades add a powder room, finish the basement and add c/a.