Brian is exactly right, especially with the coming real estate crisis that is supposed to happen.

My dream is to create a real estate company serving the housing needs of middle income population, but like everything in life, it is best to start with baby steps.I like the NYC metropolitan area because of its diversity, potential for growth and the fact that it behaves somewhat independently of the national economic trends.  

Not a statistician-- but unless you are having an economic downturn (or all work at the same place and it went under)--collusion sounds likely as the odds are against all tenants suddenly having a financial exigency at the exact same time.Word may have spread that nothing serious happened with late rent (no late fee?

Economic considerations alone do not constitute practical difficulties.

The fix up and finish out depends upon the strategy whether it be to hold (which I always suggest to ride out the economic corrections) or fix it up to sell it.

Please advise.Hi Jane, my recommendation is to choose cities in safe and economically diversified areas with above-average income and population growth.

If you look through BP threads of "omg when is the crash going to happen" it's overwhelmingly people who haven't done a single deal yet.So unless you have some systemic economic collapse of multiple systems and industries, market cycles aren't a big deal.

The area is facing an affordable housing and rental crisis with nothing in the market under $250k on the bedroom community side and a median home price over $900k in Jackson. 

Well, if I didn't have to worry about money, I could further my other pursuits (become a financial adviser, build a financial business focused around helping those in crisis, and a little bit of rubbing it in every person's face that has told me I can't do it).I'm still wrestling with this moral dilemma, but one day I'll have it sorted out and could give a more concrete answer.  

Not every real estate deal is a good one, doing your research on the area you are investing in, understanding the economics of the area and knowing the stage of the cycle are all crucial to finding the right deal.