Homicide down 23%, Aggravated Assault down 5%, Robberies down 16%, Guns Seized down 11%, Traffic Fatalities down 12%, Overdoses down 26%, and interestingly Overdose Deaths are up 14%.

The whole "don't let tenants train you" and "stick to your guns" thing only works if you are okay and are prepared for vacancies. 

No one is putting a gun to anyone's head and marking them buy homes at prices above their estimation of intrinsic value.

Hunker down  live far below your means  keep plenty of emergency cash which in your case is really gun powder to jump on the smokin deal..

I know I will be paying for the meal and whatever we do going to a movie or shooting at the gun range etc. 

Fear of job losses, fear of higher taxes, fear of a virus, fear of having something taken away from you like a gun (double fear, because first they take something from you and now you are left without protection) are powerful manipulators. 

I have jumped the gun on plenty of things in life and sometimes as human beings we can get blinded by the best possible outcome and be too rosy in our assumptions about the future.

To me it seems property values keep climbing but rent inflation isn't nearly as enthusiastic.

There's a lot of little, simple things to learn to make the process smooth (high quality photos, detailed description, pre-screening phone calls and emails, setting up showings for tenants, accepting that a certain percentage will no-show, etc), and make sure you stick to your guns on the big criteria like evictions and credit scores (no evictions, good credit!)!

Pretty much a smoking gun.