Morgan replied, 'Sell down to your sleeping point' Every investor must decide the trade-off he or she is willing to make between eating well and sleeping well.

Mixing up my long-term and short-term goals kind of sounds like I was trying to "have my cake and eat it too" :) I guess I shouldn't have expected that to be very likely...I think I'll try to start looking for better value-buys in neighboring cities for my long-term interests, and then find a cheaper place to rent from for the short-term.

I randomly ask people on the street or interrupt them while they are eating to ask if they are selling.  

I love everything Buffalo… except I don’t eat chicken wings.

I'm pretty sure he'll eat you if he's hungry.

Thank you, I eat that stuff up.

You want your cake and you want to eat it too.  

This way if you can have your cake and eat it, too.  

If you are renting from a property manager and can't find a tenant to pay a higher rent then you (your profit is the difference in the deal), guess who eats the payment and builds 0 equity generates 0 cash flow.....you.I would figure out your personal finances.....how much you save vs. spend and build a solid down payment to buy your own rental.

Maintenance, CapEx, management, etc will more than eat up the $400 you are left with after PITI.