All else being equal, lower mortgage rates reduce the cost of ownership and, thereby, allow more people to afford to buy.

- The percentage difference is the percentage the taxes will go up after you buy it.What do you mean by the property has HVAC AND boilers? 

These increases are not direct costs like buying toasters from China, but rather input costs.

I want to go the buy-and-hold route, and I am interested in finding a duplex that will provide a steady cash flow, a high appreciation value and does not need renovations.

VG  when you talk about NOTE FUNDS are you talking about Note Funds that buy or originate notes secured by real Estate or are there other funds that do the same model of raising money on unsecured Notes ?  

Our goal would be to buy something in the next 2-3 years. 

Those that cannot weather the storm get wiped out.Having cashflow positive properties provides a margin of safety you just do not have with negative cashflow.Why are you focused on buying in your backyard? 

I can explain why, because I buy Subject To.

Im really interested in buying some cashflowing rentals in Ohio, Indiana, Arkansas, maybe the Carolinas.

The 5-10 it gets heavier and a lot busier, and 10-15-20 it really is untenable to self-manage especially if this is not you main business like a person buying their own rentals and building it like a small business.