The other hugh factor is velocity, you can double the money supply but if it all goes into savings,  and is not spent it is essentially the same as removing the dollars from the system.

The most important factor is having an appraiser who is familiar with the local market as best as possible.

I have this conception that it would be difficult owning because of the fact that it has been in the family for so long and there would be certain "expectations" as to how it should be managed, etc (even though they want to have nothing to do with it, apparently) If the deciding factor is ROI on current/future net income divided by current market value of the place, it doesn't look too great as current NOI is around $8k.

I spent 15 years working for $15/hr or less in factories.

Been working factory work to get w2 income, but I got my 1st place secured here in New Ulm.

Your rate of return as far as what you pay for a property, compared to the RELIABLE rent you get for those properties should be your determining factor. I

However, I think the biggest factor is going to be TWO big players  #1 Institutional investor (hedge funds) who invested in billions of dollars in real estate  #2  Foreign investors (namely Chinese but Australian, Canadian, European too) who bought a ton of US real estate.   

Use the factory settings.

I feel the X factor is the pending and much anticipated real estate crash due to the average income wage not matching up to FMV spikes across the country. 

Get that clause for sure.Also when I think about deals like this, i think about my time as a factor. I