The lessons I’ve learned will undoubtedly guide my future investments - this journey is continuing! 

The part that seems to continuously get people (unfortunately, and for lack of better words) is the "no evictions, no bankruptcy, and no more than 6 non-medical collections." 

I enjoy a healthy debate and learned a lot from this thread 7 months ago and continue to learn from it today!

We both were approved for a 180-month 5.85% loan, as well as a 7% 30-year fixed mortgage, but we will continue to shop around with the idea that we would just pay off the entire mortgage once our funds become liquid. 

You can't continue to step up that basis after 6 months.

if you wait to take cash out or save it you are going to be waiting for home prices to rocket up in sale price.Mortgage rates are dropping and will continue to drop into next year so that means a few things. 

I still consider myself fairly new to this world, and I can say with 100% certainly the biggest battles are the internal ones, and this industry has given the pleasure of being forced to address several of my short comings, and continue to address them all the time.I find I get the most emotional when I get reactionary, so my constant focus is around honing and suppressing reaction as a whole both internal and external.Thanks for taking the time to write this up.

If you try to buy for cash flow in 3-5 years while still getting a property you like, you're going to go into analysis paralysis and will likely find yourself second guessing every property to the point where you won't be able to take action on anything.In my opinion, the Denver market simply cannot continue on as it has been.  

It helped my wife and I save up money to continue investing.I’ll give you one very important DO.

@Andrew Gavre there will continue to be upward pricing pressure for insurance in coastal areas for the next 2 years, just not to the 20%-30% rate increase we have been seeing.