Not here to defend anyone or point fingers but we have had many unsatisfied investors over the past 10 years.Most will buy 1 property and expect miracles.It takes a larger portfolio to make it more stable and more cashflow profitable long term.Owning 1 or 2 properties can always be a hit/miss.Owning a larger portfolio should over time perform better "year after year".Just my opinion based on PM data that we see on the back end.Much success

As for my sleep patterns, I use an alarm clock that plays ocean sounds.

I'd recommend to reach out to Michael Estes here in Austin - he may be a great fit to help you with what you are looking for based on your goals/anti-goals listed aboveMichael EstesTexas RE Broker License #494994www.trendRE.com

In one instance, the seller had very specific terms.

I rent properties just outside of base and have had a good amount of success with it. 

They are 14 hours from our home base.

Assuming you got a conventional loan and put 25% down, based on an appraised value of $365k you potentially could pull an additional $112,500 of equity.

Pay the bill yourself, then reimburse yourself by charging the tenants based on a formula.

From what I'm seeing, it's a lot of people on here that don't have expertise in this market playing it down, and making broad sweeping generalizations that could apply to almost any market. 

Decide which game you want to play.