Appreciation is due to demand outstripping supply.

If others are supplying all of the money what are you bringing to the deal?

Speak to a mortgage broker, if you supply 1 year worth of income, there should be lenders that will consider it.In the UK when buying a property to rent out, the mortgage is different, it is a "buy to let" mortgage.

@Josh Feldman As usual the answer is...depend on your goals...if you want to leave your job or need extra income then you should go on cash-flow...otherwise you have more options of balancing the two...I am in a market in PA which have both and recently price just appreciated so much (=less cash flow)...making me get on the car and drive to Binghamton on a recent free weekend...I liked what I saw when I got there but unless you like driving...It is quite far from Long Island...I personally find my PA 2.5 hour drive quite tiring and wonder every drive back if there is a better option closer to NYC...that said I am still open minded about Binghamton and started to follow it more closely...did stumble on an article about over supply in the student housing there just after my return but my guess this is true in many student housing markets under the current economic conditions.Couple of thoughts about Student Housing from a distance (after a year in):1.

Supply is down from last year so that’s a plus for a seller. 

Write down all the phones from the signs on their trucks of the contractors that are out there getting supplies. 

It’s all about supply/demand.

https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/gov...Governor Newsom was one of the original supporters of this bill, helped get it passed, announced he was going to sign it even before it passed the Assembly, and actually wanted STRONGER caps on rent increases than the current bill awaiting his signature has in it.

For example, most cities don't allow anything but single family homes (reducing supply), many projects can get derailed for years by just one person (also reducing supply), etc etc etc.

I’ve built my property ownership up over time, but I would be in a much stronger position now if I decided back then to buy the 4-plex and live in 1 of the units.