(Interestingly, there has been a small spike in valuations of flips on the outer limits of the neighborhood. 

Where the argument breaks down for most real estate investors is the "spike" appreciation that they are accustomed to reading about in Guru blogs and seeing on the coasts ALONG with the scale of investments available.  

@Matt Gilroy I would agree with @Alexander Felice...our Achilles heel in this industry is turnover...tough to keep good tenants when they may deploy at any moment or be relocated every 6-months. 

Have you seen a massive price spike after a major event (like Florence and likely Michael, or Matthew a couple years ago?)

In that time, I've also built up over $200k in equity, so selling and realizing the gain and rolling into another investment is also an option.Again, the market has spiked a lot more in recent years.

.- If costs are high, send out a letter saying you noticed a spike and that you will be scheduling an inspection to look for issues with the property, like leaks. 

It’s not a no-brainer anymore but tbh none of the places I bought were spike-the-football, dance in the end-zone moments when I signed the papers.

Then click your heels and read it again!

That being said, I would see if you can get a handle on where exactly the spike in use came from and investigate all those leads. 

New Construction Starts could be hurting due to the tariffs ranging from 10 % to 25% which is expected to invariably spike construction costs, resulting in Organic rise in demand for Existing inventory and hence the Cap Rates.Thanks