And, any absolute numbers for "cash flow" or equity are sorta useless without knowing the size of the deal.And, of course it's highly dependent on location, neighborhood characteristics, and the investor's preference for product type.

So most people will end up dropping term contract.As to believe that invest the difference and that difference would be their self insurance is a gamble.

As to your comment  Ryan about major markets always seeming to appreciate, I agree but I don't want to gamble on that. 

The ones that do great are buying deeply discounted properties and adding value or gambling on price appreciation in great RE markets that have benefited from the market rebound following the recession.  

I was a renter in Minneapolis for ~ 6 years, the biggest thing for me was location.I would gamble on the Blue Line Light Rail expanions, as it will allow better transport in and out of downtown to those further out.

I also think it would be pretty nerve-racking to take that money with that guaranteed return and gamble it on the uncertain.

Don't want to gamble $500 to just inspect a property.

It seems the cost of re-financing the mortgage is a gamble as to whether I could re-coop those costs by going this route.Has anyone been in a similar situation, or have any suggestions on how I could get started?

I want to impress upon real estate investors that there are no certainties only probabilities and to assess the probabilities you have to consider the macro as well as the micro...investing without probabilities is gambling.  

Austin is a bit more like gambling right now.