But that property does not have to remain as investment forever.   

I have  nothing to benchmark the process, costs and pricing of things against so if anyone is willing to share a model breaking out soft and hard costs associated with a project like this, I would be forever grateful and in debt to you.- Justin

If you wait for the right time, you'll be waiting forever.  

They claim "we have done installment sales forever, and the IRS never said anything."

Guess I have come to the realization that I don't want to put my life on hold forever, and perhaps investing now is a way to speed up the student loan payoff plan.From what I've read it seems as though the Cleveland market is very popular nationwide for rentals and flips. 

Rent control reduces property values on impacted properties by up to 20 percent.if passed, the Housing Freeze cannot easily be changed without another ballot measure.Allows rent caps on properties to be locked in place forever, discouraging new housing and encouraging condo conversionsOpens the door for rent control on single family homes and new construction.There is more!!!

They can be bad forever, or start causing problems out of the blue.  

This will defer my gains practically forever so long as the current tax code does not change.

The big picture would say the fed can't print money forever so while prices will increase for a while as rates rise once unaffordability is reached things turn around.

@John Soforic , I think you meant to say "net profit <after> taxes and insurance" not <before>.Obviously having stable tenants and therefore low vacancy and turnover costs will go a long way toward minimizing expenses and you seem to have accomplished that.Yes, as you pointed out you aren't budgeting for property management and even if you intend to do it yourself, I agree with those who say you should consider it in the budget because (a) you might not want to do it forever and (b) you should account for compensating yourself for that activity separate from the investment return itself.