I guess there are more people there who can afford 100k even at the lower end of the spectrum.

They are really awesome - like short courses on the full spectrum of strategies!

In the smallish city where I live, apartments on the cheapest end of the spectrum are listed at around 69K (all prices from hereon out are in CAD) and renting out for around $650/month.

Another one on the other end of the spectrum is if a property is passed to kids, the taxable value is stepped up to current values at time of passing, so a 30k place that was held for 30 years and is worth 280k could have had $0 estate tax and then sold for $0 capital gains but if sold or transferred before death would have tax on 280-30=250k, ouch!

The fear of a crash in either sector also prevents most from doing anything.I would also say on the other end of the spectrum, overconfidence could also be as big of an enemy as fear.

The other side of the spectrum is to pay cash for everything and not finance anything, which is considered foolish by the majority due to the much higher rates of return when you leverage funds ...

I have rentals in decent, middle class neighborhoods, sort of upple middle of the spectrum in the area.

What we are hearing here from the veterans in the bizz and who do it for a living is they can pluck out the gems,, I think my comments were just addressing the broad spectrum of BP readers from what I can see there is a high % of newer investors.

And home-sellers desperate to sell will initially light up OD's switchboards - and then blast them on Yelp when they get offers blindly emailed to them that are at the high end of the wholesale spectrum, but without the kiss (building rapport) first to make it palatable.So go to your local REIAs, talk your wholesalers friends down off the ledge, educate your fellow Realtors and investors, lean your shoulders into this small rain shower, and remind yourself that the "disruptive storm clouds gathering in the distance" are little more than 15 minutes of fame rain shower that will quickly pass over us and then allow us to get back to work.If there is anything else I can to help you grow your business, please let me know.Very Best,-G

If you plan properly (i.e. expect annual turnover); stay on-top of things (at least quarterly inspections); and renovate for durability (students generally do not keep tidy homes and are consequently at the higher end of the wear-n-tear spectrum), student rentals can be very viable.That said, I would not plan on sharing a 4-plex with student tenants while you have a new baby ;-)