Over time, rents may increase, improving your cash flow, and you’ll gain equity and valuable experience managing tenants and property operations.

My goal is to offer an affordable monthly payment that competes with renting a comparable property and offers a benefit to paying a bit more to "own". 

I believe these systems only work if you have good employees, in which case a bonus is unnecessary.I provide strong compensation, some benefits like 401k, growth opportunities, and a strong work culture.

The investor must consider whether the potential property value increase or other benefits outweigh this loss. 

In the meantime I would put the money in a low risk account gaining 4-5% which for $250k would be around $1k/month.Hey Chris - what is driving the sentiment not to buy anything right now?

The West and South posted more modest gains of 6.9% and 0.5%.

@Jade Frank I agree with what @Dominic Mazzarella and others are saying here, but If you find the downside outweighs the gain and you ultimately decide to sell the property, Since the property was held for investment use it would qualify for a 1031 exchange. 

At the very least you will want to have some general foundations set because with time you will modify processes and the learnings via experience you gain.

I truly think I only need 4 more houses to hit my goal and then shift from buying to paying them off.I am not sure if I am thinking about this the right way and I am sure there are things I am not thinking about but below are my thoughts:Pros - I can purchase the houses I need to hit my goal faster - With getting homes fasters the depreciation, tax benefits, amortization, appreciation, rent increases all start sooner - Home prices on average should be lower now then if I buy in 4-5 years - I can take better advantage of leverageCons - I have more risk until I pay the properties off - Less upfront cashflow - Longer timeframe to acquire the properties to reach my goalIf anyone has any opinions or advice I'd love to hear it.

I hope to maximize all the benefits of the program and have several questions.