I know that the market is a little unrealistic as far as most home prices but I figured of the market tanks which no one can predict that I can still hold on to the property and the market will eventually come back up.

It seems with all the deals I've practiced analyzing so far that I'd have to purchase these properties for WELL below listing price (to a point where it seems unrealistic to expect to be able to find a seller willing to negotiate so low...)Here it is: 2702 East Willis Ave, Fresno CA 93726$179,900= Listing price (I ran the numbers at this price and came up with a negative cash flow.

Are my expectations unrealistic?

Most of the people who have trouble here are the people that try to nickel and dime the pm too much or have unrealistic expectations.

The idea is that they will lighten your load, but don't ever expect to not have a finger on the pulse of your business, unless you want to lose money.Just think of all of the really wealthy superstars who have lost everything because they trusted a manager completely.The real problem is that the PM industry has somehow been created in a way that is completely unrealistic. 

Most also rely on beefed up rents and unrealistic operating expenses in their pro-formas to justify higher sale figures and can generally take advantage of their investor clients who are not familiar with the nuances of the market.Again, my recommendation is to be more active with your earliest investments but if you feel so strongly about a particular market network and partner with the leading developers  in that  market.

Back then, unscrupulous lenders stimulated housing demand artificially by making lending unrealistically over-available leading to rise in home prices well beyond their actual value. 

If Dave was checking this out, he would say two thingsa) 20% is very unrealistic over a long long period of time and 10-12% is more realisticb) if you borrow against your house at 4% and make 10-12%, you are not adding risk.

However, if the bank states your Debt to Income ratio (DTI) will not get you qualified or the interest rate is unrealistically high, ask what more can you put down to get qualified.From there, aggressively save.

Even using your unrealistic example, floating that $10,000 would cost you $193 per year on the HELOC versus $470 on your mortgage at 4.7%.