I'm purely investing and not hacking though.

I have paid off 3 of the homes, by refinancing a few of the other ones (and using the money back to pay off the loans), and am in the process of doing my first pure cash-out refi of one of the 3 paid off properties (getting back 75% of the value).

Down the road when you are buying your next property, after you've actually raised rent on that tenant, we can use that future-current actual rent.For vacant units being purchased, we just use the appraised market rents and give you the benefit of the doubt that you will be able to find someone willing to pay it.Another fun tidbit I'll toss out there: we are more generous with our arithmetic for pure investment properties, than we are for house-hackers intending to live there.

(This is purely psychological.

If you want to be a little closer to Allen Love Joy or Fairview are also good choices that still retain a little bit of the small town feel. 

Great agents for retail buyers are a joy but still little help for investors.Think of it this way.

Perhaps your's is purely appreciation.

But the joy of getting paid doing some that I know I'm suppose to do....REI.

To put it simply, gold is pure speculation.

Their employees are paid purely on commission and their "salesmen" are at the bottom of the commission ladder.