Having lived in Binghamton for 4 years and witnessed the vacancy there you probably won't see great appreciation (in the short or long term).You will however have one of the best price:rent ratio markets in the US.

To wit: Aside from 80/10/10 my HELOC stuff sucks, I merrily refer those out.

Just like on a cruise ship... all are there to have fun but by the nature of the beast there will be predators, so keep your wits.

I have personally witnessed it countless times... owning and running rentals REQUIRES reserves .use an extreme case like Houston  Harvey flood.... 5 rentals all flooded no flood insruance.. 100k out of pocket to pay negative cash flow taxs and rehab to get them re rented..  

I'm here witnessing it.

Hi BJ,My company, Wits Realty, sounds like it could be a great fit for you.

After renting out the other two bedrooms to pay for the mortgage, I quickly witnessed how much more you can save when you're not paying for housing. 

I have also witnessed how they collude with repair vendors to cheat money out of a property owner by requesting TWO invoices, one with the actual price for service, and another with 15% to 20% added on for parts, labor and service, with the inflated invoice being sent to the owner, and the property manager pocketing the extra 15% to 20%.When it comes to the upkeep, care and repair of your property and associated appliances, the bad and indifferent property managers actually contribute to the lack of proper upkeep and the higher costs of preparing for re-rental after tenants vacate.

A great thing I learned from my trial work is that when you pull a jury, they will tell you that when each party presents an 'expert' witness, the jury sees it for one for one and they cancel each other out.

I'm at my wits end.