I agree with all of your points regarding markets with universities and large employers, but am trying to narrow down to some ideal markets that would more easily allow entry at an optimal rent to value ratio that would cover the mortgage and generate positive cash flow even with only 5% down. 

The floor held up very well to beer spills and beach sand. to tag you use the @sign and start typing the name then choose from the pull down menu.

Mitch I definitely know what you mean about loan planning, have started to feel that already and I'm sure I can better optimize!

@Arn Cenedella have you considered how you will optimize your tax obligations (depreciation recapture and capital gains) as you sell out your current assets?

I've been pushing my expenses further and further down each month, not through any kind of extreme sacrifices but rather through constantly optimizing my expenses and realizing I can do with less to live a happy life.

Not the optimal choice in my experience...

So those living in other areas just basically pick off of a menu.. instead of the normal searching you do with an agent.

But I think there is an optimal point - one shouldn't go too expensive or high-end where you could end up dramatically reducing the pool of potential tenants.

This was optimal as I found I could purchase the existing facility, upgrade it, and introduce new revenue streams for less than 1/3 the cost of building a new facility which would require a huge amount of investor capital. 

I normally do not allow pets but this tenant was inherited from the last owner so I made an exception on allowing the dogs.My inclination is to advise them to try and optimize their thermostat during the days, and perhaps try changing out the filter every 15 days, and see if that makes a difference.What I couldn't believe is how much dirtier the filters are with the two dogs.