The debt/Income ratios were tight, but with property values rising, you could "flip" a multi-family property with some meat on the bone and still have a payday on a sale or refinance.On the 128/95 ring around the city you would need to shop the markets where you might find some hidden gems.

Friday is payday, so we pay new contractors (and some of our standing crew) every Friday.

The bank orders an appraisal (you are hoping it appraises for higher than you bought so you can pull your money back out and then some to rehab) and you can instantly refi or you can negotiate a construction loan (interest only) for the property and they will appraise the property as you have already done the upgrades/rehab to it. 

Have to look good driving to the pay day loan store. yeah, people in mass generally make AWFUL financial decisions, even in the face of good advice. so if you find out what most people are doing and do the opposite, you'll probably end up in really good shape ;) paying interest on a high depreciation luxury is worse than buying a house in market mania and speculating that it will appreciate to no end. the house MIGHT appreciate, but the car is DEFINITELY going to be worth nothing in 8 years. buying a car should be an effort in minimizing the damage for the necessity of driving.

I'm guessing all the good off-market bargains are instantly canalized by those with much deeper pockets, and stronger contacts in the biz.

We are spoiled and typically fill our vacancies nearly instantly and I suspect this is unlikely for this vacancy but I will know much better next weekend.  

Purchasing turnkey you will be able to rent right away and buying a foreclosure you will gain instant equity once you rehab. 

If I ever have kids they will instantly be employed versus taking on student loan debt for a chance at having a job...

The market is very stable and in some areas it's possible to buy at market values and instantly have decent cashflow on rentals.

It’s kind of like payday for a W-2 or the first of the month as an active investor when your tenants pay their rent, but it’s even better: YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO ANY WORK TO GET THESE DISTRIBUTIONS other than the due diligence on the front end before your initial investment.