If you want to get into the numbers yourself you can get a pretty quick life cycle cost analysis on the equipment options with this calculator from energy.gov  https://energy.gov/eere/femp/energy-cost-calculator-electric-and-gas-water-heaters-0

Would especially love advice from "old timers" who have seen down cycles previous to our last one in 2008-2010.Thanks!

if history will repeat its self, and property cycles often do every 10-15 years soon the party will be over for most. and new party will start to those who are well positioned.So @John Wallace considering you have few properties under your belt I suggest be patient and wait 1-3 years for the correction. 

Helping to create a cycle up instead of a cycle down economy helps everyone.

Add to that the fact that fewer people are underwater and it means that more people who get in trouble are able to sell or short sell.I see the lower supply and higher pricing as driven by the above and the classic credit cycle.  

We do our best to not cycle a single lease between December and March.

Patrick does really great analysis of the SF Bay & RE cycles.)http://www.paragon-re.com/3_Recessions_2_Bubbles_and_a_Baby (scroll down to HAI section, which didn’t exist before I met with Patrick last Friday, 4/24 ;)GTD Inspiration – ALL ABOUT TAKING ACTIONIn a way, this is a little bit of a repeat of the SF Real Estate Summit that I put on last November (with the 2nd annual event in planning..): By reaching out to those more successful than myself, and showing them the effort I’m putting into creating something valuable for everyone, it attracted amazing investors I never could have imagined!

At this point in the cycle it's very easy for new, wannabe active investors to get burned! 

You probably want to consider where we are in the market cycle and where the market is going in the next few years.

The bill miraculously goes down the next month every time I collect an overage.