What's it like to be a buy-and-hold investor during a recession?

[Alex Silang]

I bought my first real estate property a few months ago and it's cash flowing nicely. Before I count the benjamins though, I want to know it's like to hold during a recession.

Obviously property values fall...but:

Do vacancies skyrocket?

Do rents fall?

Is it hard to find tenants?

Do you have to feed money from your salary/401k into your property?

This varies from location-to-location, but what have your experiences been like?