Is there anything pointing you to conclude any noticeable appreciation is on the horizon?

You can get market appreciation if you buy in an area where values are going up (hard to predict but population growth, job growth, overall market growth, and supply restriction will often cause this, especially on a long time horizon).

There are also a number of projects currently underway, and on the horizon, that could provide appreciation.  

Many parents are worried that additional cuts to teachers are on the horizon unless CPS gets bailed out by the State this month. 

Katrina and now this flooding.. what if another hurricane in horizon....

You can see to the horizon in the desert. 

Just a rough guesstimate though, this is about a $22M deal, maybe a little more so when you factor in what your fees would be, it gets a little out of hand.I ran the rough numbers and you would end up just shy of $2M in fees by the end of the horizon.

There's a new tool on the horizon that will provide this type of functionality for Airbnb as well, it's just not ready for prime time yet.

If you dont have one, find an investor friendly agent who knows the areas you're targeting and scan it daily for deals and to walk you through and hopefully an early retirement can be on the horizon! 

But at my age (62) with a shorter time horizon ahead, is it a bad idea to start now?