Inflated appraisals are 90% of what I see.

On top of that inflation isn't even included so you are looking at more like 8% to break even.

This is why you occassionally see messages on this board stating "need to borrow $100K by this Friday" or "need $100K for short term loan".Banks say they do this because they don't want to see inflated prices from speculative investing.

I have commercial rentals with good bumps in the leases to keep me ahead or at least even with inflation and we structure the leases from 3-5 years depending on the building and tenant.

If you've got school or other things to worry about, you might just want to put it somewhere safe, like those or even government I bonds (which are guaranteed to keep pace with inflation) until you're really ready to spend time doing real estate invesments.As to avoid getting screwed over by someone else, just don't ever sign anything until you've read and understand it.

The risk of this kind of investment is that inflation will outstrip your returns.

:DI think it'd be fun to have an inflatable, a raft, or maybe a small canoe but even a jetski seems almost too big.

Conventional lenders are not currently required to do the same, but many have adopted the same procedures to protect themselves from mortgage fraud.The link you posted was in reference to mortgage FRAUD in reference to "flipping", in which inflated appraisals are acquired and "straw" buyers are used.

[I think it is trying to prevent owners from giving free lodging and then reporting an inflated "fair market rent" as a way to circumvent the minimum wage laws]

Anyone who spends a few minutes online can easily see that.For instance:http://duende.uoregon.edu/~hsu/blogfiles/shiller-real.gifSince WW2, after adjusting for inflation, home prices were pretty much constant in the long run.