We wanted the Scandinavian look for a property with red oak, had the contractor test stains as others mentioned, and ended up going with Duraseal Weathered Oak instead of using some mix that included White. 

But my passivity is determined sometimes by things outside of my control like weather and tenants.  

Forecast the worst.

They see larger monthly cashflow, sleep well at night, can weather market conditions etc...Many people like to stick their pinky up talking about how many doors they have via leverage.

If you don't have the tolerance to weather a long(er) downturn, a vacant house for an extended period, or anything that is associated with managing a physical asset than you definitely do not want to step in now.

Weather you know it or not your ALL-IN on this game we call life.

It does not matter but it will give you insight as to weather they can reduce their price or not… Now, they may be in a bind and maybe they are not… They are not making much profit on the sale and they are selling pretty fast after buying it?

It’s important not to be over leveraged and have 3-4 years in reserves to weather storms.

At 20 years no matter what, it's getting to the end of its life in the hot weather Texas has.

which, IMHO is about as useful as a national weather forecast. :)  I know from living through a full cycle in real estate, that rents do not go up indefinitely in every area.