Let’s not pretend that we don’t know what affordable for a neighborhood.

Your property is worth $75,000 so let's pretend they give you a down payment of 5% which is $3,750 and probably more than they can afford.

The Cash Flow is ridiculous.Over time, you get to understand that Cash Flow is something that only stays the same if you invested in something that is designed to do so like a Coupon Bond.Because I calculate the FUTURE Cash Flows out 10 years, I fully understand the true return of the Investments and how much cash flow I will achieve.The other thing to take into consideration is the Mortgage Balance reduction.If your investment is at break even but your Mortgage is a fixed rate, then one day, when that Mortgage goes away, your Cash Flow increases tremendously.When you take into account a 30 year projection of your Investment Cash Flows, you realize just how wealthy you can get by buying for FUTURE Cash Flow as opposed to Cash Flow NOW.It's really not RIGHT to pretend that the Cash flow you receive at the purchase is going to be the same throughout the holding period of the investment.

I do have a concern about showing up to an open house and pretending to be interested, but in reality, I am at the open house to practice my analytical skills.

I have the same anxiety towards risk that I think you're having and I've noticed that sometimes it helps to step out of yourself when analyzing a deal and pretend that you are coaching either a new investor or your past self through the process.

If you want to pretend to have morality, then go buy a high end property in the snooty portions of your area and leave the low income areas alone. 

It seems as though it is a pretend veil.

I would never pretend to have all the answers and my situation is different from yours and everyone else's.

Then I find the most difficult year in the pro forma (where cash flow is lowest), and pretend the recession hit that year by running the numbers through it and watching what happens.

You'll also develop an appreciation for how little really good finishing work happens in this country, and how many dudes who pretend they can do this well are not gifted with quality tool-using genes.