The tenants had fluctuating income, sometimes very high, traveled a lot, and simply wanted to pay up front and negotiate the best price.

It fluctuates a bit, but like @Jerry W. - I keep it at around $5k and it's been fine for me.  

The prices inside of Houston tend to fluctuate a bit and become a bit inflated in higher desired markets which cut cash flow and cap rates tremendously but the deals are still there if you're willing to search for them.

Markets in the short term fluctuate but there are some markets, including San Francisco area, that historical have long term appreciation going back over 50 years.  

Prices fluctuate a lot. 

@Mark Costa Obtaining a recourse loan with another investor won't slow down your growth rate, even with fluctuations in DTI ratios.

I don't need an insurance company to protect me from the market fluctuation.

As far as the Los Angeles area goes, below is a little bit more information on what we're looking for.3-8 Unit Buildings$500,000-$1.3 mil in price rangeSeeing as we are looking in Los Angeles, a lot of the "rules" (rent rule, etc)  are difficult to apply in this market, so we are able to fluctuate on these numbers as long as the deal would make sense.  

Currently I am primarily looking at buy and hold deals for cash flow initially with potential to flip based on market fluctuation.  

If that's the case, then depending on what kinds of assets are in the trust, the income could fluctuate from year to year.