Am I being too dramatic?

With values and rents in Denver the last few years and now going up dramatically I did two cash out refi's on the Denver houses and paid off the AZ property. 

I would never buy a house based solely on the expectation that it will appreciate in value or that the rents will rise dramatically from year to year.

profits because of intense competition run 10 to 15% of Gross... so 300k house will NET  30 to 45k  all in with all cost associated with the build job.  20% of gross does happen as well on some of the higher priced properties were completion thins out dramatically. 

Difference is, they are located in dramatically improving and appreciating areas of Indy-- 2  in Herron Morton, one in downtown Irvington area.

ARV values can dramatically increase the value of the property if your borrow buys distressed homes or just in the right area.You could borrow more money for your investments from the bank at a low interest rate, then lend at a much higher interest rate, now you are really leveraging as your borrowed money is free, you make a constant income on both borrowed and lended money, and you have created through more investments more passive income that you never really paid for and is yours to keep.After all of that maybe you can't borrow any more the traditional way because of the imposed limits.

Each of these variables will dramatically change the advice for the individual asking this question.

Many markets have changed dramatically in the last year, with CAP rates dropping as new investors poor excess cash into REI. 

One must know that going into these projects & almost anticipate things to take longer than expected with some bumps in the road, but as you mentioned, the wait is worth it as rents & market values have increased dramatically over time! 

Be warned as the Shelter in Place ordnance has lifted, the rate of home selling has increased pretty dramatically.