REITS are typically pooling assets to buy A type properties for more yield and some growth.  

@Shital Thakkar    Houston and Dallas are very similar with regard to population, growth rates, etc.

One thing about the Southern California market is you can anticipate some equity growth over time, not just cash flow.  

We also are going to start looking at Grovetown GA which is near Fort Gordon military base and there  is some growth going on around there and some pretty affordable houses for sale.

is It in a good growth area?  

So without taking an interest hit I'm hurting or stalling my credit growth?

The biblical value of Pi is wrong, the world wasn't created in 7 days, evolution happened, and a few car loans for the fleet of vehicles needed to support the rapid growth of your plumbing business, because you just signed 3 new property management corporate accounts, are not crazy or stupid.The dogma may very well be that car loans are bad (and in general I agree with this!)

Social aspects of RE are not limited to low income tenants, far from it.Look too, for the National Association of Housing Officials and Redevelopment (NAHRO).Here are some organizations or other folks that deal in RE within their realm.Office of AgingAssisted LivingAdvocate Organizations for the blind, handicap, children, etc.City P&Z OfficesDept. of Defense, especially the Corps Of EngineersDept. of EducationDept. of Health and Human ServicesEconomic Development identifies blighted areas and funds redevelopment.HUD/USDA have social and economic skills educationHOA organizationsLook to your local United Way, they are often the gatekeepers for funding going to community service organizations and they will know non-profit housing entities that serve an area.Developers base growth from social impact studies, demographics are the social and economic movement of populations.  

At that point, I decided I wanted to get bigger, and had to swallow the bitter pill of giving up some of my hard earned cashflow to a 3rd party property management company so that I could keep my sanity, my job and my family life while continuing to grow the business.  

I am positioned for growth but there has been no slacking here.