Maybe a little old fashioned these days, but I had to trade up from a spread sheet to an Access data base.

I fully expect that my portfolio will ride waves and drown in troughs over time.

But Ive got a thick cash reserve so I think I can ride it out.

banking on that appreciation to make you money in the long run is pretty comparable to gambling. in addition, it will depend on your location. if your property is in the Midwest, that's a big gamble. if its in California, maybe you can bank on appreciation. those hoping for appreciation on a negative cash flowing property should not do so unless they have a portfolio big enough to ride out the losses. if your only property is negative cash flowing, you are just subsidizing someone's living expenses. you are correct to say it is not black and white, but I think that grey area is MUCH smaller than you think it is. of course, this excludes properties where you plan to rehab and raise rents.

I was a passive "ride along."

The rocket-ride in Toronto will absolutely come to an end, but whether it goes supernova or simply fizzles out (the theoretical soft landing) remains to be seen.While I am not in disagreement with your expressed sentiment for Toronto  - I personally won't go near it ... and likely won't even following a correction unless it is significant (25% or more),  I do find your statements of Canadian real estate financing to be somewhat misinformed - or perhaps distorted as a result of viewing them through a U.S.A. context.There have been corrections and crashes in Canadian real estate markets before which have left owners underwater, yet they have still been able to renew their mortgage financing ... if significantly underwater, and owner could be asked to bring more capital to the table at renewal, though this is historically rare.   

@Paul ChoiI'm biased in LV market with multi's, and will ride it until it starts to get wobbly.

In other words, your cash can't just stop there...or you are losing.Whether you ride the note or the property bus, the money must be moving in and out of the different buses, and every time you get off you have to take a new "friend" with you...in the form of cash profit or cash flow.That's the real secret to building cash flow fast....keep your seed money moving through one vehicle through the next...and not stopping in any of them to enjoy the view.  

Suggest you give your self 12 months and make real estate work... this is the best time to build your operation and once you make it you will ride the upside better then anyone else..

cut costs  No capital improvements just maintain stop distributions only pay fixed debt.. in other words get lean and mean.. and ride through the heavy seas..