Also RE does not suddenly crash, it takes months and years for the trend to change; its slow like an oil tanker, the 2008 crash was very visible in the market data 2 years prior.I don't follow the stock market close enough to comment, but we are not going to see a RE crash any time soon, at least not in the midwest, if anything we may see things slow down at some point, which would be good - what I believe we will see (I am already seeing it in my biz) is a new wave of economic and climate related migration within the US, based on the fact that remote working is allowing people to move from fires, droughts and exuberant real estate prices to the states that are much more attractive - I am getting several calls a week now from people moving to Milwaukee, usually from the states out west, but also from down south.

Needless to say, I highly suggest this method for the current climate.

Its a great market to invest in from a macro perspective as the things that drive growth here such as the business climate and weather most likely aren't going anywhere, but its a very competitive market especially if you are not going off market to find deals.

Lots of lessons learned which I wont get into now.In 2006, the climate at the time was terrible for rentals because vacancy was extremely high.  

It isn't "zero down".In the current climate, prosecutors get promoted for finding people who abuse mortgage law and take advantage of people.

@Eric Mayer I hope you are right but I’m just afraid of political climate around 2022 and beyond, plus geopolitical environment on top of the illiquidity in the financial markets.

Also, if you are in a cold weather climate, moving in the snow cannot be too much fun.

The math seems to be screaming “RENT”, but my wife is hesitant and prefers selling in the current climate. 

As long as you have a piggy bank such as i401k, ira, 401k or some type of liquid or fairly accessible funds, you don't need that much in reservesIn this climate we are in, best to be on the higher side of reserves(especially in C/D areas) in case of non payment and to jump back into the market strong if we get back to early 2010s in terms of pricing.