If you are willing to rent rooms, it is a simple equation and you can live for free, it literally is just finding a house where you can add multiple bedrooms and turn a 4 bedroom to a 7 bedroom or a 5 to a 7 bedroom and you take the smallest room or a trailer and renting out 7 rooms, you can definitely achieve cash flow.

I have a buddy that's very successful in D Class areas.He drives around all day putting out fires, getting in literal fist fights from time to time, throwing people out of their apartments or changing locks when they leave, constantly breaking the law because they are "civil matters" and he knows the tenants won't come after him, and shaking folks down for late rent.I'm sure folks in A Class areas are doing the same, right?

it is very difficult - much more difficult than advertised, and more difficult now than it was a few years ago because of the increase in interest rates and the heightened competition for distressed deals.the issue is this: you're up against other investors and businesses spending tens and sometimes even hundreds of thousands of dollars a month on marketing. 

It can quite literally make or break your ability to have positive cash flow.Reducing the Need for TurnoverFirst and foremost, the idea that tenants renewing their lease or moving out is something you can’t control is a myth.

That can literally be like 50 bucks - and that is not up to youInvesting in section 8 usually means C-D class areas - Higher risk, higher turnover, higher chance of evictions, higher chance of property damage, behind on rent etc.Instead of buying a 20 unit, maybe considering scaling down and investing in a solid area. 

It took literally a few clicks and we were done.

However (I'm an insurance agent not an attorney) the legal wrangling of the PM not taking a necessary action could set up a situation where the insurance carrier pays then subrogates back against the PM company for their inaction so the property manager should also have appropriate general liability coverage for their business.This next part can change by state and insurance carrier...Being named as lienholder or mortgagee can set up the lender being involved on the payout of any damages - say there is a fire the checks cut for damage could name the insured and lender so both parties have to agree how those funds will be used.Some carriers have a rule that if the loss amount is under a certain dollar amount the check is only cut in the owners name / if the loss exceeds a threshold (say $25k) the check is cut in both the owner and mortgagee names.Being named as loss payee is literally that - the check is cut in your name or both the insured and your name. 

I appreciate both your input.The minimum investment in both deals was $1,000 so it's not like I'm losing 10's of thousands here.

Michael Lechter literally wrote the book, OPM, in 2005.

For instance, with STRs, why won't an investor spend an hour on AirBNB for their area to identify listings that:1) rank the highest2) occupancy 95%+3) ADR $750+4) hosts have 2+ properties5) listings are branded with 20k+ Instagram followersetcThen, reach out to those top operators; as many don't have the time or gave up on cold outreach, yet they've done the hardest 90%, have skin in the game, and outcompeted thousands of listings nearby.