Most folks don't have the surplus funds starting out, unless they "wash" part of their W2 pay thru the entity structure.

I don't think Everett is suddenly going to have a surplus of rentals because of Boeing layoffs. 

The real factors are whether rents will increase over time, and the amount of time and money you’ll spend on maintenance.If there is a surplus of rental properties, your rents will likely increase very little, year to year.

After a while (dozens of deals) you will have a huge surplus of PALs.

Will you see many more developers ending with surplus on their projects due to market condition domestically and Intl and consumer confidence lower and lack of liquity on the secondary market?

From an appraiser's perspective, the surplus land doesn't always increase the value unless it can be subdivided.

. :)The surplus funds (difference between the 50K owed and the 250K sales price) are paid upstream in priority of the liens, then the to home owner. 

You'd have a mortgage on the 2nd home and cashflow (from the tenants hopefully) and pay back the HELOC (on your 1st home) with the cashflow or surplus income that you have from your regular job.

Now there are less 2-4 units so supply is low and those prices are going up, but we have a surplus of SFH and prices are not increasing.

If you have deep pockets and are not interested in earning a income you may choose to park your unnecessary surplus cash in high potential appreciating real estate.