The latest Marcus and Millichap report has zero impact on my tenants on fixed income that rent modest C-class duplexes.

Zillow says $1475... modest increase of $50 to $1325..."

Then it can be a time consuming and sometimes painful process to learn construction.  

Listing homes isn't nearly as time consuming, so I try to dedicate more time on that side of the transaction.

I think you should start familiarizing yourself with the area now by consuming the local news content.

In an economic downturn, one of the first areas to get hit is leisure/travel spending for consumers and business travel.

In B areas, homes will be modest but maintained, grass mowed, no cars up on cinder blocks, etc.After you've narrowed down your choices to your top one or two, just make the trip out to meet them.

You’ve got to get out of the consumer mindset that debt is costing you money.

I know that adjustable rate mortgages are now fairly rare for regular consumers, but those same owners can have interest rate exposure elsewhere.

It is time consuming to do this, but it's totally worth while.