The fact that I could save so much and continue to grow my cushion was a big help. 

Eventually, I would like to have the cushion in order to purchase one or two vacation/family homes and turn one into a bed and breakfast!

Almost nothing beats having a cushion of equity to soften any recession or compensate for costs/capex.  

Keep in mind the lower priced homes have capex that can wipe out your cash flow while the higher priced homes due to higher rents have a little bit more cushion.    

HVAC service call for no heat/air or plumber to fix leak or regular grass cutting) and it also assumes there are no capital expenses ever (ex. need to replace water heater or furnace).Looks like there's plenty of a cushion to account for those things, but 35% is if everything runs perfectly forever which isn't going to happen!

Save more than you think you will need because it feels better to have a cushion.  

Right, I guess it depends on how much cushioning there is in the buyers' DTI ratio.

Maybe look at the low profile pattern goods with a thin , dense cushion, no thicker that 3/8" no less than 8 # density.

I like to overestimate costs and underestimate rents just to provide a cushion and to really make sure I'm getting strong cash flowing properties. 

The better the deal, the more cushion you have for those "learning experiences".