Then just treat it like any other job and keep at it consistently.

Until the economy shows consistent data no change in the foreseeable future...

That said, just to start the thread off, I thought I'd provide some general feedback...My observation has been that drywall costs -- labor and materials -- are tremendously consistent around much of the country (unlike a lot of trades). 

@Alec Saenz The market will speak to you what your RE portfolio should consist of.  

Hi Kristi, I own one of the more consistent wholesale/investing companies in central arkansas.

This indicates that a balance has been struck between the jobs that create other jobs through a multiplier effect and jobs that do not or if they do the multiple is low and indicates a stable economy and hence a stable housing area.Doctors, Engineers, Business owners, etc. have multiples of anywhere from 5-20 on a first level tier.

Hi All,just got put onto this site by an investing colleague of mine - what a phenomenal resource.I am looking at a 4-plex, it'll be my second rental purchase, already have one established, albeit SFR.When I look at comps the nearest 4 plex units are all 2 bed 1 bath, and one sold as recently as Dec 2014, so is a good guide for me.What is a good strategy to estimate value in the 4 plex of interest to me which is 3/2 as it's the only 3/2 layout compared to the other 2/1's.I have averaged number of rooms and applied this to larger 4 plex, eg sold for value divided by 8 (2bedx4 units), divided by 12 (2 bed, 1 bathx4) , then multiplied this by 12 (3bedx4) and 20(3bed, 2 bathx4) and I have also used square footage ratio's to gain a value on the larger property.Are any of these methods feasible and if there's a better method, I'd love to hear it.For the record, these comparative units are all in the same subdivision, are architecturally similar, so direct comparisons in this case are pretty close.Thanks in advance,Michael.

I've read many posts on the subject and listened to the podcast and there seems to be no consistent answer.

The entire business would most likely consist of the LLC, possibly a brokerage and all other assets/information possessed by the seller along with the managed properties. 

If you are confident that the unit will be rented consistently, 5% is good.