I'm just looking for feedback on investors familiar with the area, what are your thoughts and predictions for this year? 

@Sam Valme Buying for appreciation is always harder to predict than buying for cashflow....however I do feel that if you have the right market knowledge, buying for appreciation is not the unicorn people think it is.I think that if we can predict the paths of gentrification, that will often given us a much clearer path to appreciation than other factors.

Obviously no one can predict rates in 5 years so assume that will be what it is, but is it still typically another 5 years until the next balloon payment or refinance and a 20 year amortization? 

The whole employment and credit profile is to predict whether they will be good tenants (pay on time, no problems etc)...

Saying it predicts profitability is like saying a $100 per sf property is more profitable than a $1,000 per sf property.Cap rates are not on leveraged properties.

And I like the idea of diversifying - technology changes significantly every 2 years, whereas real estate seems like a much more stable and predictable sector.Curious if any of you guys have any thoughts on this?

However, this particular unit was built in 1900 so I set aside more dollars each month than I normally would because of the age related repairs I predict I will need to make.

I would like to help her out but rental market value is only $1300 and there is no equity but there is a potential/predicted increase in value of 8%.

And hey, they are predicting a mild winter this year anyway :)

Tenant build-out cost.Lastly, you really should be looking a deal over a 3 - 5 year period of time and not only the cap rate which is just a snapshot in time and predicts one year ROI.