What strategy was used to survive the downturn in '08

[Mihir Bhimaraju]

I'm curious to know if there was any special tactic used to survive the '08 downturn. When the market crashed and folks were losing their jobs, I'm guessing some of the renters weren't able to make payments because of the layoffs. 

How did some of the investors survive this crash? I see most of the folks here started investing post '08. 

[Christopher Brainard]

All the rentals that I own were purchased at less than 80% of market value, at the time of the purchase, which is what I try to target. Currently, they are closer to 50% of market value and I haven't been in a rush to refinance them, as I feel like the market is topping out.

Generally speaking, I keep 6 months of operating expenses in reserve.

-Christopher