@Richard Gamble and everyone else.  

I like the huge tax advantages and passive income, BUT, even though you are drilling in areas where oil has been found it still seems like a huge gamble to come up with nothing.

That I could quantify the value of paying a little more early in the gentrification stages, that property went up in value over 100K the first 18 months of possession.What's going on in this area of Indy I can't seem to quantify it other than some people are buying $40k - $80K properties, tearing them down and building new, some are doing gut rehabs with a change in floor plans, and some are buying the $60k-$90k property putting $30k into it and renting it out in hopes of the spike.When I see the land for these lots are valued at $4,000 - $6,000 depending on lot size, that's a big gamble to teardown and scale that $40k - $80k property purchase to the $250k - $300k properties that are being sold on some of these deals.

Gambling on appreciation is just that, gambling. 

@Eric Carr I think it's the property holding pattern while gambling on the hopes of that long-term equity growth is the problem for many people. 

You make the money when you buy, not sale the car; similar to when you choose the tenant out of several applications, your good tenants must be screened when they come to view the property.Regardless, it can be a gamble sometimes.Best of luck!

Finding any strategy to deal with increased interest rates, other than paying less money for properties, is in essence a gamble that interest rates will soon come down.

@Ryan Rush This business is full of gamble's and risks, it goes with the job... but I would never get so deep that I would put my family at risk..

Judah, i would rather go with the numbers, if you do them right you know it will work, taking a gamble on how you feel about a property is very risky, you could loose a lot if your not careful. i do agree with @Marvin McTaw, there may be other ways to unlock the value of a property if your gut got you to buy the place and its not quite working out the way you first thought. if you know that an area is up and coming and could raise the value then that would be going with your gut feeling and hopefully it works out, but again i feel the numbers and research of an area before you buy is the way to go.

But I view those as a losing gamble.