And the reason why your "tale of two halves" will play out as you described.Demand:  This has actually been high almost all along, but rent growth hasn't materialized in response due to high levels of new supply. 

Other wise they would have bought it at the auction and would have told you they owned them so you would not waste your time and money bidding.. that's the other play these redemption buyers play.

I very much have a long term play and "don't care" about the cash flow immediately, but obviously I don't want them to negative. 

I think the bottom line is that he played fast and loose with our money.

If this is your first investment and your first property, the quickest way to fail is to create an uneven playing field.

Cities don't play fair when they decide to go after you.One thing I would also suggest you do is look on AirBnB for the specific building you want to buy in. 

But she takes excellent care of them (even put in a small concrete pool for them to play in during the summer:-).

I also have one neighborhood that I am hoping to purchase an SFH as an appreciation play.

The rooms are unfurnished and the tenants are very low-maintenance (hardly know they are there). 2+Unit Buildings here and nearby currently sell for $1.5M on average.I bought the property 16 years ago, so my mortgage rate is very low (2.2%) Even though the property is cashflow positive, my bigger play is the average 5% yearly appreciation.I'm looking for others who are interested in house-hacking in this neighborhood. 

the one that broke even was a fix and flip play that the fix happened but the flip did not work.