Rich Dad Poor Dad was the book that got me into the investing/real estate mindset too, and you'll find that to be an extremely common theme from other investors you meet. 

Homes with new furnishings, modern kitchens, themed kids bedrooms, and fun amenities like game rooms and movie theaters always rent the most with the highest nightly rates.

Exquisite craftsmanship, use of woods and spaces all in a nautical theme.

David A.This is a recurring theme that savvy REI investors seem to adhere to- Go where the best potential for growth is- I will be doing lots of research as far as infrastructure growth is concerned.

Matty M "Sarcasm" was the theme of the last post.

I know a common theme is to hold for the first 10 years or so, value add during that period then trade up.

Clearly, if the houses aren't selling at the price the realtor told you, the realtor isn't good enough at his/her job.That said, I've been following your posts for about two years now, and the one common theme is that you're constantly looking for black and white answers to things that don't have black and white answers. 

I think there are great deals out there because of the 'retail apocalypse' theme in the media that ignores the subtlety that physical sales are still necessary in a lot of cases.But that does not help you much because you need to do a lot of work in that area to find good investments because many of them are terrible and will go dark/declare bankruptcy.

It seemed like a common theme, for people that were just getting started, to stress about having read so many books and listening to numerous podcasts and still do not know where to begin. 

Is it telling a story of unemployment, hunger, homlessnes and hardship or is it projecting a theme of growth, new employers in town, population growth, store openings, etc.