I am a fan of the Buy & Hold strategy as I think it will help me with reaching the goal of a) Generating enough cash flow to provide security for my financial future and b) Provide additional income for my retirement.While I'm currently involved with retail real estate, I'm more interested in multi-family residential real-estate; ideally the 5-25 unit properties. 

We know you aren’t a fan of arbitrage but your comments are kind, thoughtful and helpful.  

You're probably seeing less about applications because the most frequently discussed MTR tenant is a travel nurse who provides a contract, and the hospital already does a background check. 

For instance, I know one flipper who adds wine fridges to $450k houses to make them seem more high-end (personally, I'm not a fan).

My parents live in the town, and we visit every other month, and my parents check on it more frequently.

Account ClosedI'm not a fan of through the wall AC that are large window units.

I'm generally able to get a 80-85% of market value with solid comps accepted rather frequently, but when I start to get below that I notice the approval rate either takes longer or it takes a bit of a fight (market dependant) to get within that magical 65-75% range.Any experienced short sale investor/negotiator care to dialog on what you are experiencing, and some of the different ways you approach to maximize your chance at getting lower numbers?

The malicious damage coverage is nice, and would be good, but I don't think it's frequent enough to make it worth it for us.  

Slate walks, window-filled 3-season room, lighted ceiling fans, polished wood trim.

"Did you ever have one of those dreams where you were laying on a raft in a big pool, being fanned by unicorns while a squirrel was throwing olives at you?"