I ended up purchasing a duplex on the Westside and could not be happier. 

Best part, we're happier and healthier now than when we were uber consuming and out spending the Jones.  

my parents let me live at home for free if I would study and get my RE license I as tired of pumping gas and bagging groceries for 2 bucks an hour.got said license at 18... and never looked back.. have been in business through some interesting time... uber high interest rates  18 to 20%  1989 to 1991 crash in SF bay area ( regional event but a crash all the same)  Dot com bubble but that one was not bad.then the mother of all crash's 08 to 2010... did not get wiped out but darn near .. set back 10 years.. now 5 years after that disaster back to about 50% of where I was in 07.. but much happier .. gone is my HML company and 20 employees.... now its just me and my hand picked group of investors doing what I do best and that is finding good RE talent an helping them make a lot of money...

Have been much happier with my iPad's data plan.

You'll probably be happier and freer than all of us schmucks with mortgage payments to make.If your goal is to build wealth and a higher rate of return, leverage the properties but know that you'll be a slave to the mortgage company for as long as those mortgages exist.Only you can make that decision.

So, unless we are highly leveraged on a new acquisition with an assignment of rents as part of the agreement with the lender ... where this coverage makes the lender happier ... we plan to handle the risk of a lost revenue stream on our own.

This can produce added benefits for the landlord; the longer the term can translate into a happier tenant, which has many positive benefits, such as a better payer and the property receiving better treatment.Are you concerned about being “stuck” with an undesirable tenant?

I actually read a study afterwards that found people who quit FB found they were much happier so I guess I wasn't alone in that boat.Twitter however is so easy to use and I would think that BP member would have an active account there before either of the other two options.

Since we already own a lot of properties, we work to partner with cheap and skilled tradespeople saving maintenance costs.We are proactive in our maintenance so our tenants are happier and they stay on average longer than most tenant occupancy periods (which saves the owner on future leasing).We set up leases to end during summer months where we have the most tenants looking for new houses to rent so we can maximize rental rates.Even though we rent fast, we prioritize make ready repairs so that we can continually keep the property up to maximize rental potential and identify and get great tenants.We are proactive in our collection of rent so we evict faster than self managing investors.We perform inspections to identify how tenants are keeping the property to not renew leases to hoarders and people who break lease terms.We perform move in and move out inspections by video to document condition to charge back tenants on security deposits.For some investors, they are not as on top of all aspects of property management and they should get help (to improve ROI). 

We're under contact on our first triplex, and want to buy at least 12 more units in the next four years, moving towards small and large apartment complexes as soon as possible.Want to hit at least $2,500/mo cash flow by the four year mark, happier if it's over $3,000.