95% rule...Do I dare?

[Matthew Irish-Jones]

Hi,

Doing a 1031 exchange on an investment property I bought 5 years ago.  It will sell for somewhere around $300,000 and I will have around $185,000 to reinvest.  My goal is to purchase 7-9 more properties, put a little money into them and have them ready to rent.

However, the market is pretty hot right now and good properties are getting multiple offers and selling the first day.  

Any advice would be appreciated.  Has anyone used the 95% rule before?  I am sort of inclined at this point to go with rule #2, not exceed 200% of the sale price, and get more expensive properties or spend more on renovations.

Thank you