Well I am new to this but I do understand there is a lot more to it that meets the eye. The big tax benefit comes from writing down your investment while you are in a high tax bracket and either cashing out or having solid retirement income when you are in a lower tax bracket. To get to that point is the math equation to make sure you havent over invested in the property to where you negate the benefit down the road. It seems like rental rates will come up a little and property values will or should come down a lot making it a good time to start thinking about rental property. As with everything you should buy when everyone is running for the hills as long as you are well capitalized and have at least 20 years before you retire. I also realize most people on here will probably be running for the hills until values hit 1996 levels but thats not very realistic.
