@Quincy Lockett Rents don't always keep pace with appreciation, especially if it's relatively rapid.

I haven't taken it off of Airbnb yet and don't have plans to but I do plan to speak with a lawyer and draw up a separate supplemental contract as my Airbnb is growing rapidly and I feel like the extra level of protection couldn't hurt. 

For example, you can search all the Grand Rapid district court records online by name and it will show all civil cases. 

Create systems and you will grow at a rapid rate.

I've been leaning more towards buying a multi-unit in a rapidly appreciating area vs. a single family home in the area that we currently live in (a suburb with a great school district and is appreciating, but taxes are high), with the idea that the rents on the property we buy (say $5k total in rents) would exceed the rent that we are paying (say $2500 rent).I'm totally excluding any tax benefits/liabilities for this scenario and am purely looking at it from a monthly payment perspective.

We had rents grow so rapidly in my area the last few years and after falling far behind the market rent I had to just tell the tenets rents were going up (sorry guys!).  

The mortgage market is changing rapidly and high leverage loans will become a rarity for awhile. 

A good apartment maintenance tech can do almost anything in a rapid fashion to get an apartment ready to rent. 

welcome melissa. i am from buffalo, ny, originally from grand rapids michigan. i know where lansing is and have been there several times. please feel free to ask any questions along your way and good luck to you. 

I had to move home for a few months to recover, and my father's health was heading downhill rapidly (Parkinson's was robbing him of his retirement he had worked so hard for).