I guess this idea is for people who are worried about some unforeseen catastrophe where vacancy spikes in their area and all of their rentals go vacant...

You won't get huge spikes (in either direction), but if you buy right and in good locations, take care of your properties and manage well, you should see good long term returns.

My name is Nghi and my interest and drive for real estate investing spiked this month after attending a conference on it.

I'm a real estate agent in the area and the interest in duplex seems to be spiking this summer, thought that is just based on my recent clients who have been after duplexes.For local networking, I recently discovered a local meetup group that meets at the El Chico restaurant twice a month for lunch, though I have not had a chance to attend myself yet. 

Some will even attach a large linked chain to a collar with spikes to make themselves look "bad".

After that, we now keep tabs on how up to date tenants are in paying their utilities.Keeping tabs on the water usage by looking at the bill will also help you identify leaks or unauthorized occupants, as the water usuage will spike for either of those reasons.

The 5 year fixed loan could jump up to 7-8% if interest rates spike.

If the home were heated with heating oil or propane , when prices spiked this winter , would you have reduced the rent?

The market will eventually spike again.

The U.S. Government’s HAMP Program (Home Affordable Modification Program) is about to expire. Over $1 MM homeowners were able to take advantage of this program in 2009, which provided a sharp drop in the interest r...