@Ned Carey nobody has a crystal ball, but it’s smart to pay attention to history.

I wish I had a crystal ball about the potential increase in areas, but here is an off the cuff answer for ranking:Dorchester (it's complicated - Dorchester is so large!)

But from an appreciation perspective they've been outstanding.So you've got to look in your crystal ball and decide if crappy cash flow is worth any potential appreciation. 

Still trying to figure that one out :-)This point was really crystalized last year in a thread.. nice young couple in I think Slidel LA  .. they went on and on how they were getting leads but had not closed any deals because sellers would not come down. but they got their good friend the real estate broker a half a dozen listings.. so I am thinking man you spend all this money to get these leads then hand them to a broker.. and we all know brokers by law cant pay non licensed individuals referral fees.. 

The smaller towns have less buyers, have more investor interest, which means more low price offers when you sell.Our appreciation on our four plex in Crystal is crazy good.  

You have to draw boundaries and can’t succeed if you aren’t crystal clear on your priorities.

Why are these things not crystal-clear to you?

I do not feel that is likely that things will sour in the future, but I don't have a crystal ball. 

I used to dive into conversations like this, but I gave up “forecasting” years ago after my crystal ball had failed me so many times.

I'm just looking to bounce some ideas around, and make sure that I have a crystal clear understanding of how this works BEFORE I embark on a deal.