I would think to get top dollar in today's market you would have to completely gut that kitchen but you've only allocated $1,200 for it.

By not taking into account the cap expense from the moment the lifespan starts you will be back loading the cap expense and have not allocated the incoming income to address it. 

That money is liquid, FDIC insured and accessible thru an ATM if you need it.That said, proper asset allocation that matches your timeline is a always good strategy and if you have a solid RE portfolio with tenants who remain in your units despite the economic environment, a recession should be below a few other things on your list of things to spend your time worrying about.In terms of pouncing on a property when the market cools, I'd recommend continued trust in whatever deal analysis method you use.

So like most people I have some allocation there.  

Allocating 50% for expenses looks to be the general rule of thumb on BP, however what kind of condition is this property in?

Just curious, when you examine a mult-family/apartment deal, how do you allocate what the fair value of your purchase should be?

If you are going to learn on a capital investors dime expect to have to pay out above market rates.These type of investors are looking at alternative investments for allocation of their capital.If you pay at 10% but they can get 9% with a proven track record performer then the 1% doesn't justify the unknown risk.

As long as the interest rate that I'm going to pay for the car loan is less than I can earn by investing that amount of cash, I'm going to be better off every single time by financing the car and allocating the cash elsewhere.

If you still meet your cash flow goals with these allocations, you should find that this will provide a decent buffer year-to-year when maintenance costs are abnormally high.  

I'm allocating a pretty large fund towards marking in the next month or so.