She sent a series of angry texts - and I played host and placated for a few days, but could only be empathetic for so long.

This time, I am looking at the Buy-and-Hold play and not so much equity play.

So the income theoretically does not play a role in the value but, in practice, the better the income the higher and item sells for and therefore there is a correlation between income and appraisals even for the 4 unit and less RE (it is just not as strong as your post implies).The bathrooms over the closet is the correct choice if the numbers he provided are accurate.

Playing cat and mouse the whole time, telling us she has rent, come pick it up, story after story, after story.

I think in general, those of us that are very familiar with real estate probably downplay the true risks associated with real estate plays, since we are so familiar with them. 

@Joe Cassandra First, I would wait to see how this all plays out, the asset based lending may come back sooner than you think.

Others play the appreciation game where they buy low sell high 5-10 years later.

Curious how things will play out in different markets! 

While I’m in much better shape now, it’s impossible to predict how this will play out.

From personal experience many seasoned investors, lenders, who were around for other economic downturns of the past will still be pursuing deals as it comes down to will you make the decision to take the available opportunities with the risks on the table or play it safe and not.