if that's the case, having an extra 20% in the deal from either buying low or adding value will be a big help in weathering the storm. this will make it that even if you ahve to sell, you could still earn some money or break even. additionally, with a multi it's generally more of a cash flow play, and if that's the case an economic dip won't be too big of a deal if you are cash flowing an acceptable amount with a buffer included. lastly if you get into a deal and have extra equity, you could bring in another investor in the future and "sell" the extra equity to them, while still staying in the deal. there are other options, like subject too's and rent to owns that may work here but for me buy low is the best defense. 

Some real estate investment plays are for appreciation and I don’t have data or a graph to present but my educated guess is that it is in the minority as much of it is for cash flow and or value added propositions to force the appreciation.

I could write a dissertation on why to buy and hold in the BA is a strong play, but if you do a little research there are graphs floating around here on BP that go back approx. 30 years showing the effects of the various downturns in the market. 

@Carl Mayer - can't believe I'm saying this, but Greeley is getting a lot of play for having excellent economics and being a solid place to invest.

Real estate take time and focus and is at a peak right now so it's more of a yield play.

Love his music!

If you have not closed a deal, do not try to play with foreclosures.

I will be selling my primary residence and I’ll have about 100k to play with .

I've played around with Reddit a bit... but not with regard to buying ads.

Then, you can go and play around with some variables to see what effects what and how much on the spreadsheet.