In both cases, you are paying for the privileged to speculatively hope it goes up in value.Getting positive cash flow on a property is getting paid every month to own it, and appreciation is the icing on the cake.

I’m a teacher and I’ve seen people regret not keeping on course and the GED programs are not a piece of cake when they decide to go back.

@Anthony M Schlitt you can have your cake and eat it too :).

And the total and utter disgust I've been feeling at politicians, organizations, and some of the general public being so flippant as to tell rental property owners they can't evict has just added another layer to the ugly cake for me.It's galling that for years politicians have grossly undercut affordable housing programs, but suddenly expect us to become de-facto charities against our will. 

Appreciation should be the icing on the cake when it comes to investment property. 

Anything around there sells like hot cakes.

My ex-property manager had a property that didn't have laundry hook-ups and they had a very difficult time getting tenants for it..it took months and months...meanwhile every other property was renting like a hot cake with multiple applications.

Your agent is trying to sugar coat a bad deal to make the sale..Yes depreciation and tax benefits are a part of the total equation, but they are the icing on the cake.....not the cake itself.

I want to have my cake, eat it too, and still have some more left for tomorrow and the next day.