and only after you covered properly the "other" aspects of risk management (insurance, umbrella insurance, proper property management, etc.).Unless you are doing flipping (or AirBnb), in which case I suggest you look into Series-LLC and you operate each flip in its own child-series (if not clear why, ask for more details).Anyway, a lot of this is covered in my notes, and that should save you hours of research and hopefully clear some confusion as to why you want it and when and how.

@Dave Charron, just a guess but perhaps the company wasn't properly insured or the guy wasn't an on the books employee and also the company probably has no suitable assets that can be sold off to collect against them. 

Excited to be here to learn how to invest in real estate properly.  

Confirm with your CPA to ensure proper application of these losses.This post does not create a CPA-Client relationship.

Be sure to look up proper contractors in your journey.

By using the proper insurance and the right legal entity you can eliminate or minimize any threat by lawsuit to seize equity in a property.

A few properties are still registered, you can check them here: https://aca-prod.accela.com/COC/Default.aspxIf you do not have a rental registration, you cannot evict, and eventually they're going to start throwing out fines.To get a rental registration in Cleveland Proper you will need the following:  - links attached 1.

Did the tenant give proper notice before vacating?

Properly and professionally managed property in Texas has meters for every unit.Again, I'll point out meters are well under $100 each.

I'd also mention that with winter coming, you need to make sure everything is working properly.