However, that amount of excess is recent due to my wife becoming full time where she works, so no nest egg built up yet.

I've found that some of the glue gels sold (vistaprint) have too much gel and envelopes stick together if you don't let it dry.

If it start to dry inbetween spray it with some water to keep it moist, it help with the process.

I'm just applying the 50% rule that says 50% of gross scheduled rents will go to vacancy, expenses (taxes, insurance, routine maintenance, make ready costs, tenant damage in excess of deposits, utilities at least when its vacant, CPA fees, legal fees) and capital (roofs, floors, appliances, furnaces, sewer lines, etc.)

The air temperature and surface can't be below 50 degrees otherwise it won't dry.

In my area, good deals with banks has dried up.

Oh yeah the kids took toothpaste in their bedroom and wrote across the walls everywhere and it dried up hard.

If it's drywall use a quick drying material like Durabond.

The MLS is dried up, auctions are being overrun by large syndicates and newbies who don't know how to analyze a deal, so the mid-sized investor isn't going to get much there either.Certainly, if you can do a good job finding off-market sellers, there's always opportunity, so that would need to be your focus.

If yours exceeds that, you won't get much value for the excess.