With inflation taking 3% of his buying power annually, the savings account investor is loosing 2%+.

Eviction controls still apply, but you can raise rent to market levels, and are not bound by the city's percent allowances.

All I am saying is that this is what I'm noticing in "hot" markets as defined above.Considering the variables, population growth, job growth, institutional buyers, international buyers, etc. in these "hot" markets, I do not think that this trend will disappear anytime soon.Population growth has been going on for, well, forever, yet somehow the Case Shiller index is flat since 1890.Job growth is cyclical like anything else.Institutional buyers in the SFH space is an untested business model, likely bound to fail at some point, returns are crappy, entire thing is only sustainable given insanely low interest rates.International buyers storing their wealth in magical air boxes are the greatest of greater fools I've ever seen in my lifetime by far.This is all the same type of stuff the experts were talking about in 2006.

It has a tech industry within the area bounded by three schools - Duke, UNC Chapel Hill and NC State. 

Admittedly, if a nationwide recession hit, and property values and/or rent dipped 15 or 20%, this person is subject to loosing 15-20% of $900k in properties, rather than the widow's 20% of $225k.Then, if you use the BRRRRR method, the cash-out refinancing, once you have enough equity (usually through remodeling the property, but sometimes through market appreciation) allows you to ideally grow a portfolio of rentals with 100% financing....and zero of your precious equity left in the property.....I know of a BRRRR investor that turned $80k cash into 30 rental properties worth about $8million ($5million in loans, $3million in his equity) in 5 years....granted, he bought at the bottom of the 2006-08 recession and benefited....but much of it was the buy at a discount and remodel profit.Then decide if the risk/reward is right for you.You can say "look what I did with low leverage" (slower)....or "look what I did with maximum leverage" (faster).

Business accounts are pretty loose when it comes to deposit names. 

You don't want to cut loose a big part of the funds and then have the contractor run off with the money - this has happened to most investors at one time or another.  

Now I am facing financial difficulties and need to sell my house even if I loose some money from my down payment.

Sometimes it's better to just cut loose and start over.

(We don't do 299, because we want it to show up in the search from 200-300 and 300-400, if you go 299 you loose the upper bracket.)