I guess i am trying to get an idea of how the two markets compare if reasonable expectations are met over the next 5 to 10 years.Dayton In My opinion would tend to be a more stable market with a larger current income and moderate growth of 2 or 3 % while Auston would generate less current income with expectation of much more appreciation in value.

Yes, professors are stable high pay jobs. :-)The university is only a small fraction of downtown.

I have a product based online business in jewelry & eyewear that i built up in the last 7 years which provide me with a stable income.

After a year with Spohn Health im back working for the Navy as a civilian and more financially stable, around 68k+.

I look at the status of their accounts on the credit report, and even then try to focus on those that I consider to be important.Looks like medical collections and a bankruptcy a very long time ago killed the credit.Both prior landlords reported that the tenant paid on time every month for two years but left the place in poor conditions (I think I'll try to call them and ask exactly how bad), but made no attempt to recover damages and simply kept the deposit.The tenant actually warned in advance that this was due to a domestic violence situation with a partner who is now gone.The tenant has had a stable job for about a year making a little over 2x the rent, and receives a very small amount on child support as well.I guess I'll investigate who the cosigner would be and exactly what damages were done on the prior home.

Cap rates around here are closer to 7-8 in a decent area for stable product.

My investment objective is mainly for stable/steady stream of income with potential capital appreciation in 5 years to exit.

You need to keep a reserve but your overall return should continue to be more stable than the ups and downs in the stock market. .

You can also look at the floor rate, what the rate would go down to if the index rates fall.What the ARM is indexed to also makes a difference, if it says Pime Rate, on the date of the making of the note, that can be pretty volitile, if it is an index like LIBOR, the London Inter-Bank Offer Rate that is pretty stable as is the Fed Fund Districts rates.The time you expect to hold the property plays a role, if you are going to sell before the ARM rate can adjust past the current fixed rate to average the fixed rate, the ARM is a choice for the up front cash flow, but really that won't be alot.

2) Have a maintenance budget3) for your case, allocate a standard % of the maintenance budget for the handyman but through the manager on a monthly basis (like a retainer).In this way, both parties can be flexible and disputes over repair costs are minimized by an stable monthly expenditure (on your part) and stable income (for the repairman's part)His particular skills naturally must be taken into account considering your needs,Hope this helped, I'm going through the same thing more or less - prob less :)