My friends thought I was crazy for going through such a headache for an extra $200 a month.  10 years in, with rent raises, and a refinance to bring the payment down, now that property cash flows $1600 per month, and has gone up in value about $170k.Now of course part of that equation is having bought it as prices were plummetting during the worst housing crisis of our lives, and living in a great market like DC, so the numbers look better than most can realistically get. 

Wanted to share since there are a bunch of posts about plummeting occupancy.

Stocks tanked, property values plummeted, HELOC's were frozen, and investment property loan terms were onerous.

The delinquencies at our PM company have plummeted since we started. 

During the 2008 -2009, cheeseburgers (stocks) were cheap, just like house prices plummeted as well.  

I'm asking if you would be willing to make little initially and bet on semi-static interest rates and property values not plummeting in order to refi some time in the next 7 years.

After purchasing my first home (primary residence) in 2008 and watching the value just plummet, I was a little bit scared away from real estate. 

It did in 2007, but values of MF don't always plummet.  

Early last week the bond got shelled and rates plummeted, then just a few days later it rebounded and massive YSP was gone overnight.If you're a borrower in a conforming loan amount and your rate is in the 6%s, and you're smart enough to figure out how to get yourself into the 5%s in a long term fixed no cost loan...consider it if the savings make a difference.

But with values continuing to plummet I am unwilling to buy at the 65-70% level that use to be feasible - factor in eviction, fixup and marketing time and there is zero margin at that level.