In terms of areas to invest, the north side of town has been growing like mad and the downtown revitalization project has also done a lot to boost property value but then they may not be greatest deals.  

There is also a FICO boost when you have 5 cards, but only after you've had them for 2 years.

At that rate, I'm still making more than renting each side individually, plus it's helping boost my occupancy numbers- we'll see how it goes...

So if you are running a very efficient property and manage to keep your NOI very high, you may get shafted by an appraiser who weighs to heavily comparable building unit costsConversely, if your property is running inefficiently, that same appraiser would "boost" up your property's value beyond what your NOI deservesBanks also will have a set of standard values they use for underwriting like vacancy %, capex/unit/yr, repairs&maintenance/unit/yr, etc...Also, take a look at this thread for more info:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/432/topics/368546-how-will-a-bank-value-an-apartment-building-for-financing

@Julie Toh intersting point about the interest being tax deductible. that should definitely boost the ROI, and seems like a good reason to use financing. i'm just trying to keep the bigger picture in mind (ie, acquiring multiple properties long-term) ... how do you see people managing this in your area?

I’m currently working on growing my portfolio at the pace of 1 or more deals per month and would love to find an agent who can match my momentum or even boost it.

I also agree with @John Teachout that your rents at this value are only marginal - is there some cosmetic work that can be done to boost the rent numbers?

I can see there being an ego boost in buying an apartment complex, which could make someone feel like ‘one of the big boys’, but I just don’t see it in the numbers.

Also you mentioned raising the rent after some changes so that should boost value.

The beauty of Real Estate, however, is that with some knowledge, hustle, and/or relationships can greatly boost your expected return.