IT'S CALLED NEGOTIATING 3)  FOLLOW MY EXAMPLE VERBATIM AND YOU WILL PROBABLY NOT EVEN LOOK AT A FSBO AGAINEXAMPLE:  YOU FIND A PROPERTY THAT CANNOT BE FINANCED BY FHA, NEEDS WORK, US VACANT AND IS BEING SOLD "AS IS" AS WELL AS PRICE IS PER SQFT IS LESS THAN THE MEDIAN PRICE YOU FOUND.IN THIS EXAMPLE YOU FOUND A PROPERTY FOR $100,000  YOU RUN IT THROUGH A QUICK AND DIRTY COMP SEARCH (IF YOU DON'T HAVE MLS- USE BIGGER POCKETS  CALCULATOR FOR ARV (IT'S PRETTY ACCURATE AND NOT TOO FAR OFF) - JUST DON'T USE ZILLOW OR TRULIA OR EVEN REDFINS- USE BIGGER POCKETS ARV CALC AND/OR THIS SITE THAT ALSO HAS A FREE ARV CALCULATOR CALL REIKIT--- I NOTICED THAT EITHER TWO SITES HAVE ARV VERY SIMILAR AND NOT TOO FAR OFF FROM THE MLS--- WAY MORE REALISTIC THAN ZILLOW, TRULIA ETC INFLATED ARV'S!!!! 

When I ran my numbers I found the ARVs to be inflated and renovation costs underestimated.

First, a correction would indicate that a value has artificially inflated to a higher price than it should be.  

It's wrong.Also, with inflation being what it is, rentals scarce, etc. people cannot afford to be paying for multiple rental applications.

Typically, yes both home values and rents go up steadily with inflation so if eventually rents will outpace your expenses.

Ever hear of inflation adjusted numbers?

The takeaway is that yes, while inflation destroys cash, it is still king.

Me personally - I expect inflation to remain higher than market expectations for the foreseeable future, and I feel that I can always find investments that yield more than 7%, so I probably wouldn't pay the balance down if it were me. 

Financial freedom requires:Your rental income must increase faster than inflation so you will have enough money to cover inflated costs in the future.

The combination is that high LTV financed RE is not only at an all time high but in terms of inflation adjusted cost is at greater than 40 year high.