My investors (LP) get first paid because of the pref and since the equity goes my way, it forces me to get projects that have a high IRR.Since, I get to keep a lot more equity on projects with superior returns  I am not "hungry" nor desperate to have a lot of projects.

Or when rental rates drop 20% due to oversupply or a desperate competitor?

I'm from the Saint Charles, Des Peres, Chesterfield area however these locations obviously are more expensive than I want to start with.

@John Thedford ... do you keep your receipts desperate according to property, or just all together?

The people who don't meet all of our criteria and are interested typically will message back "could I pay to add my cat" or something.Be careful renting right now, most people looking in our area are seem desperate. 

This creates situations where they sell at a loss or become landlords out of desperation.

I can't remember who said it but a BP blogger made a good point that if someone calls a postcard they are somewhat desperate/motivated.

What you are willing to pay is your Full Price - but again, elicits desperation on your part without it being true.  

I don't believe there is anything major going on externally that is causing that, other than just random luck whether the types of properties we buy are being released by the banks that month or not.The one exception was this summer, after the tax credit expired -- I believe this was a major external event that affected the market for several months.All that said, we're okay with slow periods where we aren't doing much...if we were desperate for the income at all times, we could certainly find deals by expanding our purchase criteria or expanding the areas where we purchase.

The inside desperately needs to be repainted (no surprise), but I was thinking about spraying the interior this time rather than logging another 25 miles with my paint roller, especially since I will probably have to prime AND paint.