I have been getting this a lot with Craigslist here lately, from what i figure they are trying to cut down on spamming and the amount of scams going on .

I added "cat litter" houses a while back however I think most people can figure out that one   without much trouble.Here's another one, David: "Spam in a can". 

She detailed how much she would pay on which dates and had a written plan to be current.Since she had been such a great tenant, I decided to gamble.

Understanding how I'm going to track the success of my marketing efforts is important to me and ensures that I'm not just "gambling" my marketing dollars and hoping that I get lucky.Here are a few notes about what my situation looks like: I've got three lists I'm targetting - each going to a different local phone numberI will mail every 3 weeks with a slightly different letter / postcard each timeMy phone service provider (RingCentral) provides a call logI'm using Podio as my CRMHow are you guys tracking things like response rates, appointments set, deals under contract and conversion rate (direct mail all the way to done deal)?

So there's a little more of a gamble to them.

If your rent to value ratio is below 0.9% I would stay you are gambling on appreciation and only competing with foreign investors looking to launder money and investors with much bigger pockets only looking for capital preservation at less than 5% a year.

If you're thinking it is a short term play (10 years or less), you're probably gambling quite a bit and being speculative at the very least.So you lose a closet and you don't have to get in a car to deal with tenant issues.

Why would there be bargains, if everything sells for full price in a very short time.Now if your financier insists on buying property, fully aware we are late in the cycle, and wants to gamble on appreciation in a highly cyclical sector then fine.A multifamily with no mortgage imho would be a much better proposition for you both as it will throw off cash and survive a change in conditions easily (without a mortgage)It wont be a bargain, but relatively safe

With the competitive market for rentals, I'd think you're safe to make the gamble with bumping up rates. 

sorry for the spam guys...my phone kept crashing and i thought its not posting.