Dealing in the N/P sector can be very rewarding, financially and personally and so requires greater knowledge on several fronts compared to dealing in a for-profit mode.

You could always leverage into an apartment building ( 5 units or more ).Value is based on cash flow and cap rates instead of comparable sales approach.Economy of scale is easier.Just depends on long term goals.Right now debt service is cheap.It's easy to take equity out and put it to work for returns above debt service.When prices and interest rates rise that will be harder to do on the purchasing end.

Ken Latchers - Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it- I'm pretty sure I addressed or have thought about your concerns at this point-1) I found a cost effective HSA/high deductible plan which should fit well, 2) Agreed- the lack of recurring, reliable funds is a trade off 3) I will have $50k in cash reserves, plus already have a RE LOC at $50k, credit card max of $30k, and 3 F&C properties just in case, 4) I have already secured the funding to continue growing over the next 18 months at the current rate of 2 properties per quarter.

I guess its just a culture shock for us as to compared to the bustling and happening city from where we came from.

I did a little googling to find some data to back up my sense that Halifax and much of Canada is in a real estate bubble.All the images are from http://theeconomicanalyst.com/.Note how out-of-whack Canada's Price/Rent ratio is compared to other countries.

The 4 comparables I have found show that the houses arv is around 70k, and i'm still determined to do the deal.

Sellers state they are trending upwards.Buyers state they are trending downwards.Government states they are trending in whichever direction makes them look better.NAR states they are trending whichever way you want them to so long as you use an agent in their membership.I say, look at your past and present inventory levels in your area and compare the data.

As a newbie, I've finally obtained the funds to safely invest in my first buy & hold - So this month I've been doing nothing but debating over myself on two decisions - talk about feeling like a slacker compared to you veterans out there!

The sale price is $60k and the zestimate is $100k...comparables seem to be in the 80-90k range.

Additional expense is that MFH is in flood plain, so I need to spend $375/year for flood insurance.THIS WEEKINSURANCE - I purchased similar insurance coverage for $1700/year, compared to prior $2050 year.