Yes, I was more fortunate to have grown up learning how to do this, but goals can't be doors and refi-ing out so that something cash flows ok.

Also as you mentioned, people are scared to buy and make long-term commitments so it's a ripe time to own rentals because the pool of renters has grown.  

That happened in hot markets due to grown inventory.

But you can't really go back and apply 2 years after high school.It's the most grown up decision, to keep all of your options open until you mature.

Once your portfolio has grown and you’ve been able to increase your spread on rents vs fixed costs it may make sense to 1031 in the MF space and hire a property manager.

The looser is locals who have now grown children and are ready to buy homes...but is impossible to do so due to the staggering cost of properties. 

We started as a small town but have grown to be a significant city here in North Central Florida.

married and have two grown boys.

My buyer's list has grown to 200+ buyers in my area.I know that I have missed out on deals due to me not having the correct buyer in mind when a deal came across my desk.Yes, I send out a mass email to my list, but I think it's better if I'm able to email specific buyers and also follow up with a phone call.I want to be able to input buyer information (area, price range, type of property, BR/BA, etc.) and when I get a deal I want to be able to put in the criteria of the property in order to filter the buyer list to narrow down to buyers that fit the criteria of the inputed property!

But this happens to coincide with research that I've read indicating that historically, in any given year, the odds of a recession are ~25% (usually due to Fed adjustments of the rate - outside of clear over grown bubbles like the dot.com or previous housing bubble)BiggerPocket just echoed your sentiment on the CA > OR movement, I'd be surprised if that slowed in the short term.As far as the big companies, overall that appears strong, but as an FYI from the hospitals perspective (for whom I work for) - there are no expansion plans that I'm aware of, and we're a long ways from any job growth due to ACA.