No one can predict where the market will be in a year, in a month or even tomorrow.

I don't have a crystal ball nor do I pretend to predict the market.

I predict big things for that valley in the next 20 years.    

Then the fixed rate will be paid off approximately 21 months earlier (in just under 21 years)So yeah it all depends on the situation, and unfortunately it also comes with predicting where interest rates will go in 5 years time so it puts a bit of uncertainty into the situation.

REIV makes this easy and is the reasoning why I now have a predictable income each month. they do all the marketing for you as I said and all the metrics to the marketing and all the stuff behind being good and effective marketing. and follow up with REIV is push button easy. where I lacked before REIV was follow up and consistent marketing. which pieces to mail for which lists and follow up, whom to mail, whom to follow up with, when to follow up, putting the list on rotation 60-90 days, etc. now when I speak to a seller and they are there on price but not ready to pull the trigger or we just cant make the deal yet because of price I just click one of two different types of follow up sequences in podio and my VA handles all of the mailings and mail pieces each month.

Suggestions on neighborhoods are welcome too-- anywhere in Greater Seattle.I know COVID is impossible to predict, so I'd definitely appreciate advice in both scenarios (COVID dragging out vs. resolving quickly.) 

Of course every property/situation is different and no one has a crystal ball, but aren't proformas the closest we can get to predicting our returns?

It is impossible to predict the future but if your wife's income is going to drop in three years there is little to predict, it is a fact.

Also, I want to know what's getting done for the draws I am paying (this helps me predict costs on future projects).

While there is always somebody predicting a crash, there are a number of people who have some pretty convincing arguments (based on fundamentals) that real estate will enter a significant decline in the next 1-3 years.