Prices do cycle and you must be able to withstand a period of depreciation but historically So Cal coastal prices have performed better than appreciation for any longer term duration.  

Getting a 10% return does not seem that bad given my strategy to pay extra principal payments through the extra cash flow per month and reduce my mortgage duration.

HOAs read the fine print and read again 2 to 3x times a few common things to look out for with condos in general:*Are you allowed to rent it out right away in some cases they prevent for a duration of time*How are repairs handled*The HOA is it run with the feel of a community or like an iron fist dictatorship*HOA fees have they been relatively stable or consistently climbing*Any sign of new construction that could compete with your investment*Any new business development in the works say a strip mall etc that could drive up demand for your potential unit post purchaseThe deciding factor is what you are comfortable with after all the facts are laid out.

In my experience, when a member of the family was deployed, the rest of the family stayed in the rental property for the duration of that deployment.  

There are plenty of examples where it would make sense to have higher cost of funds than current cap rate.Examples such as: Value add property with low current cap rate, short term / mini perm financing with expectation of cap rate improvement over the duration of the financing, 'path of progress' real estate where rental growth rates can reasonably be assumed to increase 'x' percentage over the interim of the financing period, financing a development that will be repurposed, low leverage which offsets financing costs, etcIn addition to the reasons why CAP rate can be lower than financing costs, the math also works out that CAP Rate < Interest Rate can still be profitable.Example: Suppose you don't have the capital to pay cash for a $1,000,000 property.

Anticipated duration of the investment.6.

If your parents are not interested in learning the business of residential landlording, then they had better find a good property manager.The referral from the neighbor might be more promising, but they would still need to go through proper screening and the property would still need to be properly managed for the duration of the tenancy.

Just be sure your money is not tied up waiting when you could be doing 2x the deals during the same duration.

Remember that the term of interaction between a landlord and tenant is of much longer duration than that between a merchant and customer.A landlord is permitted to ask for proof of disability and proof the dog is trained as a service dog as a condition of entering into a rental agreement.The classic case on this point is Bronk v.

If they are probates stick to just the letter for the whole duration.