Real Estate tends to go up over time and most newer investors have never experienced a downturn. There are periods, however, when Real Estate has come down in value and we’re quite possibly heading into a contracting environment currently. Joel Friedland, Principal of BRIT properties, only buys properties with all cash. Most of the challenges he had in 2008-2011 was the result of debt and declining values, and even then, he was not aggressively leveraged. That’s why he currently only does all cash deals. He and his investors are seeking very conservative investments with strong downside hedges. Joel specializes in manufacturer – user industrial properties in Chicago and delivers 8% unleveraged returns for his investors.