I'm pretty conservative vis-a-vis many on here, in that I own most of my properties free & clear, but I do have a little leverage and I recognize that my path doesn't generate returns as high as others might.

I think you were the one that recognized me as being an Eastern Washington guy much like yourself and felt honored that you of all people took a moment to even stop and share  your wealth of knowledge on some of my post.I know that you state you aren't and will not be a mentor to folks. 

If you consistently analyze properties, it will be much easier to recognize a good deal when it shows up.

I certainly recognize that this is the "Cost of doing business" when you allow animals but I have had previous pet owners with little / no issues. 

The computer recognizes it as spam and locks you down.

Justin,You are basically in the perfect position and you don't even realize it yet.You have some cash to work with on top of what I'm assuming is a decent W2.You have no real debt yet (as far as I can tell) and low expenses.You live in Metro Detroit.Unfortunately, you don't seem to recognize the opportunity that is Detroit proper and you are about to make the mistake of investing in the suburbs. 

Are you getting a deduction that will offset the real estate capital gains and then recognizing the gains as ordinary income throughout the period the SPIA is paying out? 

So it does not return too much cash flow from an income stand point, but by having a 5% cap rate this in essence means that every marginal dollar of NOI $1 added per month can create a multiple of 20 times in value ($1 / .05 cap = 20) or if multiplied by 12 months in a year, $240 dollars of value in equity.The 10% cap in rural indiana with the same terms as above would have a monthly cash flow of $8261.95 or approximately 22.8% cash on cash return with out factoring depreciation, appreciation, or amortization.10% cap = 10 X multiplier of Net Operating income or NOI so each dollar you can "net," per month by either increasing income or reducing expense creates $1.00 X 12 months X 10 multiplier = $120 dollars of value in equity.So the difference is in how the market cap affects your ability to create "equity," with the lower cap rates you dont need as much increase to create that equity while in the mid west since the cap rates are higher (lower multiplier) you'll need to have in this case double the net income creation to fabricate the same amount of equity growth as in Seattle.If you're trying to reposition and sell for profit, a lower cap market can be better if you find a troubled property with an opportunity to force equity in Seattle since the value multiplier is much higher, 240x.The rural indiana property with a higher cap rate could allow most to live financially free ($8261.95 cash flow per month) while offering a lower 120x value multiplier to create/force equity.So it all depends on your strategy to focus on equity or cash flow and to recognize which "play," you have in front you and whether the juice is worth the squeeze for you personally.

Speaking of which...the cirrus isn't approved for spins, so the only recognized recovery is to pull the red handle, which launches the ballistic recovery parachute.

This is something people cannot do without.For the record, I recognize that there are some markets across the country that I would not touch, but there is no shortage of healthy suburban areas where I'm comfortable investing in RE, and I would be shocked to see a substantial and widespread crash in values.If that happens, I'll eat my words.I believe if you purchase good assets in landlord-fair states/communities and for the long haul, appreciation is a reasonable thing to expect.