It was a stressful couple of years- but I firmly believe that the most cash lies in repositioning, not these turn-key promises.Now- my kids are in private schools with healthy 529's that are contributed to every month.

Then I would do a market analysis on a few of your top candidates to look at things like whether there is healthy population growth and wage growth in the area (which would support strong rental demand and future price appreciation), landlord-tenant laws and the like.

For me, that is where quality and cash flow have a healthy relationship and I am not sure if Denver and/or Colorado is by now really that great a place for that approach.In the end, you need to be comfortable with your decision.

You need to take everyone's advice into perspective, and compare it to where you're at, your values and your lifestyle, and don't forget the quality of your rental will reflect the amount of attention/work is needed.     

Taking into consideration local government efforts, milennials lifestyle, and ongoing trends.  

In this case he doesn't need a crashpad.But, on the other hand, he may not be willing to give up that Southern California lifestyle and will need a crashpad, but he makes more money so he's going to be in something a little more "refined".

I thoroughly read the thread about lifestyles unlimited.

This experience is reminding me how important we all need healthy reserves and a strong financial runway to make it in this business long term.

That depends on your lifestyle and business/marketing plan.

If you don't want to scale and just want a few properties to supplement your lifestyle then good for you!