Worst Case Scenarios?

[Amy Fulbright]

I realized recently that what's really holding me back from diving into REI with both feet is that I don't have a solid set of exit strategies for if/when things go wrong. Not only that, I'm not sure that I'm AWARE of what can go wrong. Can you help me create a list of general categories of things that can go wrong?

Here's what I've got so far  

- I hire a bad General Contractor/handyman/contractor to do the repairs
- Rehab goes over budget (and I don't catch it until after the budgeted funds have been spent, house isn't finished)
- Rehab goes over budget (and I catch that it's going to happen, before the budget is totally busted)
- Rehab goes over budget (and I don't catch it until after the budgeted funds have been spent, house IS market-ready though)
- Reappraisal comes in low after rehab/Can't refinance
- Can't sell for enough to break even
- Can't rent for enough to cover monthly loan payment

My eventual goal is to get a list of the top 5-10 things that commonly go wrong, and then find ways to PREVENT the them.