Looking for a house we could house hack, had an incredibly low interest rate on mortgage and house has increased in value about 42%, an estimated 180k in equity.

Buyers usually want to purchase on today’s value while sellers often want to use future potential of the property (“current rents are below market” or “room to build an additional property”, etc) to increase the purchase price or likelihood of a sale.

Quote from @Drago Stanimirovic: Benjamin,You're on the right track by focusing on macro trends like job growth and population increases, these can justify investments even if the 1% rule isn't met.

@Jadan WilliamsIf I were in your shoes, I’d start by clearly defining my investment goals and identifying target markets with strong job growth, population increases, and development potential.

Once the property is sold however we will be ok and our incomings are due to increase the following year.

This decision increased our budget from $15K to $45K, but it turned out to be a wise investment.

Historically, the average days on market (DOM) for rental properties only increases by about 6 days during November and December.

I still get sick thinking about it.  

This decision increased our budget from $15K to $45K, but it turned out to be a wise investment.

But in smart buying, if someone has enough cash to pay cash for a property, they could easily stash a good chunk of that away to cover downed months and still leverage to increase the overall returns on their portfolio.