You'll also want to look over the financials to see how well the property is being managed and to make sure there is a healthy contingency fund in place.

If there is more than one Borrower of this Loan, the obligation of each Borrower shall be joint and several under this Loan.Amendment.

You just need to be financially astute and be sure that you are cash flowing with enough buffer such that if something happens you aren't going under. 

However, I keep hearing that we are about to have another financial crisis....so I'm not sure if that is the best route. 

A few years after purchasing my home i found myself in financial problems and thanks for Dave Ramsey, i managed to pull myself out of debt without selling my home (thank you roommates).

Wondering what people are using to create and track their personal financial statements to include fixed assets and depreciation?  

How about asking for financials see what has been the rate for the last few years.

I'm preparing to make a couple of these investments in the next 6 months and trying to start by planning my financial life accordingly. 

If you have one of the major financial institutions (Fidelity, Schwab, Merryl Lynch, Wells Fargo, etc.) setup your plan then they as custodian will limit your investment choices to that of their offerings, usually stocks, mutual funds and bonds.

I would ask for a rent roll, leases and financials.