You all were gracious to reply so rapidly.  

Hello!I am currently looking at a Duplex with 2 tenants in place. The asking price is 83500 and gross monthly rent is 1700. On paper this deal looks fantastic.I am currently a student thus no steady income to easily a...

I want to proceed forward more rapidly than anyone I know. 

We experienced rapid appreciation followed by a cool off after the summer months ended.

@jeffkehl, yeah, it's a rapidly growing area with no signs of slowing.

Numbers can differ across the state...Detroit is different than U.P. which is different than Grand Rapids.

This rule can be modified if you are in a rapidly appreciating market, say 10% or more per year over several years.

Philadelphia is a rapidly evolving city and home to many of the countries top universities.

Have prices rapidly inflated in your area?

I would look for areas where homes are appreciating rapidly - like Nashville, TN, Charlotte, NC - or any other place, buy multi-family or single family homes there, invest some dollars in stocks like Amazon, Facebook, or Netflix, wait a few years after appreciation and sell the home (s) for a profit.