I for one don't make comments when Im just speculating, and I find it unprofessional and insulting for someone to give an opinions based on absolutely no knowledge or research.  

He still has not failed to pay anyone.The question of whether he should have to rely on his friend for that last 5K could indicate poor planning on his part, but I won't speculate.

It is interesting to speculate the amount of entrepreneurs who would enter into full time world if this wasn't a concern. 

She speculated it could go towards the high end since there weren't many other homes on the market. 

It could be only 1-2%, for those that are relatively new construction and in the areas where you would expect the most appreciation, up to 8%+, on older product in more speculative areas (and just for clarity, I'm talking about an annual figure, not the holding period CoC that some of the online calculators are producing...

I am speculating that a family with small kids may not want to rent it. 

I prefer real estate because it’s not as speculative as the stock market.

I am just speculating but would not self storage be one sector that does well in a down type economy.

What I hear people saying is that it is not prudent for inexperienced, under-capitalized newbie investors to shrug off what opportunities are available locally and concluding, using often faulty logic, that their market is "too expensive" and throwing their hard earned dollars into highly speculative ventures - whose risks they are too inexperienced to properly assess - promoted by promises of the "clear, blue sky."       

That also keeps you from speculated what the market will do with the changes in supply v. demand, you will have a ton of historical data to support your investment.