While I don't recommend investing on speculative numbers, the icing on the cake is often times better than the cake.

sometimes that's a great way to break the ice and hedge your risk when getting into your first apartment deal.

I'm saving up money now for the down payment as I am fortunate and grateful that I don't have to worry about student loans.While I talked to a few people about my plan, (my dad has 10 units and my past hockey coach is a real estate investor in my town) I figured that I should finally join the BP forum to gain more experience and knowledge by learning from experienced professionals.

Appreciation is icing on the cake.

I like to look as appreciation as the icing on the cake but not my main source of income. 

Items like a stainless fridge with ice/water maker, brushed nickel hardware, always a washer dryer (I can't believe any landlords don't provide this automatically), etc. 

I have a unique job where I officiate high level of junior hockey and live in housing supplied by the league.

The former is a problem for financing purposes because it's basically a kick out at any time, so it's a 5 year lease with a month to month (or however long the notice provision is), which is tough to finance, and always keeps you on thin ice.

Our landlord leases prohibit the use of salt and/or ice melt.

Because I started out managing all of them myself, and I didn't want to (1) learn more geographic areas than that and (2) spend time on the road for management.Anytime there's a real emergency - we have lots of ice storms, I had one property fire, water leaks where the tenant can't find the water shut-off valve (something you should always point out at move-in), etc. - it's a definite plus to be nearby.There are so many reasons I prefer to have properties near including knowing what's going on in those locations - market values, legislation, zoning changes - so, for me, close is a must if I'm holding long term.That being said, people from big cities, like Atlanta, think I'm crazy.