I was locked into a agent previously and the downside was the agent was pretty much useless except for the offers we told him to put in.

Local market is very strong now but could be nearing the end of cyclical boom so there would be downside exposure but if I ended up having to carrying one or both homes for a couple years that wouldn't be outrageous.

I think there is more potential downside in Killeen. 

However, you have to consider the downside of having one unit below another.

Definitely going to look at the triple net concept as it sounds like a low management, steady return option (just need to learn about all of the downsides - beyond lower return - as it is much easier for me to see risks then benefits in a deal).

Any downsides that your seeing?

The downside of commercial brokerage is the Loooooong lead time before you get deal flow.

The only downside is if you do not know about a non payment is that the local utility will not chase after the tenant for a bill after they move out.

I'd stick to a low/no load index fund as part of the plan and avoid vacation rental markets unless you have a specific, high cash-flow niche that mitigates the seasonal downside inherent in most VR business.

The only real downside is the associated fees with a second mortgage, and the two separate payments.