Mortgages are a lot like tattoos: Great mortgages aren't cheap and cheap mortgages usually aren't great..or at least the process of arriving isn't. 

Labor costs is the laser focus answer.

And the death-song has been the moment any accountability crops up for such a consumerism, the laser focus of protecting the consumer economy means blame Blame BLAME someone, something ANYTHING else for the falter because we "need" the consumerism...... 

@Alexandra Reeves, in my experience, tape measure or laser measure is about the only reliable measuring device.  

It grabs the colors from the tool (looks like a little almost laser).

After a lot of thorough conversations, I have decided that I will be renting the house to my tattoo artist.

Good point on the importance of getting laser focused on the right market.There is a lot of incorrect information out there when it comes to price declines. 

That's the short, vague version.Basically, be laser-focused on your end goal and you will get there quicker and more efficiently.FYI - Here is a historical chart of sfr prices in the Ft Worth and surrounding area.

Unfortunately many investors become laser focused on the 100% recapitalization of their transactions and end up working harder than those who don't place all of their emphasis on the 100% capitalization and have real estate portfolios that perform better because they made investment decisions better aligned with the underlying real estate's fundamentals. 

Because that's where you want to get a laser focus on when it comes to researching, training, podcasts etc.