For the last 10 years I have been diligently contributing money to my 403b, to watch my "balanced portfolio" suffer the same fate as the stock market in 2008 with subsequent recovery and modest returns.

If for some chance there is a redemption or contest of the sale, you are only limited to recovery of your purchase price plus the penalty and repairs that were due are safety, security, or preservation of the property.   

The jersey shore has gone crazy since recovery from Sandy  I recommend looking at second tier cities.  

If they bought in 2010 once recovery was happening they did amazing.

Care to provide any examples of these govt agencies acting as counsel for an agreived seller where actual recovery for the sellers occurred in their civil suit?

For example, I am a little concerned about some aspects of the business cycle recovery and a potential for a double-dip so I lean toward the safest part of capital stack which is debt (or low-debt equity).

The greatest athletes in the world have coaches to reach their full potential.

Most common forms are Straight Line(SL) and Double Declining Balance(DDB) andbuy and hold investors will want SL to reduce your exit game Depreciation Recovery  expenses.short term holders (aka less than 7 years) will want the DDB to maximize yearly profits.There are tables online for both methods, but recommend a good CPA calculate this and give you the amortization table printout for each and every property as you'll need it when each is sold.