I know you can't assume appreciation and it is just icing on the cake but I would make this clear to him going into it.

Property management I account for 10% until I have an agent locked in. then everything is icing on the cake.

Appreciation always seem like icing on the cake if you can get it, so I'm not banking on that too too much.

Have your cake and eat it too.  

Saves time and everyone appreciated not wasting time playing patty-cake.

Cake for everybody right?  

Finally, appreciation is icing on the cake, not a reason to make a purchase, IMO.

Or BP posts that glorify the one in 1000 that hits a homerun leading others to think this is a cake walk.And any one can buy a rental home takes no skill at all to do that.. so take all that with a grain of salt as well.. and that's not a bad way to go for most of the folks on this site.. buy some rentals stay on top of them create wealth over time..

I've been seeing a lot of 2-3 Family homes that are fix n flips and as the market shows they are selling like hot cakes.

@Darrell D. like Bob said above, if you would like to "have your cake and eat it too" look for a fund or syndication that will distribute cash flow along the way AND share the equity growth as well.