Rarely do you see someone with perfect credit all of a sudden have a short-term hiccup (usually due to illness or something like that).

So the Janitor usually wins, defined as making more passive income than your expenses, because his expenses start off so low and stay low.Unfortunately, after you play it a while, you get to know what to look for, like when that one stock becomes available for, I forget, $3 or something ...

That kind of shoot-from-the-hip approach can be fun for a minute, but it usually ends up like my old buddy Rick’s first deal.. he bought a distressed fourplex in Tucson years back without a real plan, and while he eventually turned it into a solid monthly cash flow, he spent the first six months sleeping with one eye on the tenant ledger, praying the HVAC wouldn’t bail on him after a hot desert day.

First you need to learn to separate the following:Maintenance: usually things related to wear & tear or tenant damage.Repairs: usually broken items like doors & windows, caused by tenant or nature.Capital Improvements: usually expensive things that wear out: hot water tanks, furnaces, roofs, etc.The seller is correct that Repairs & Capital Improvement items should not be a factor for awhile (ALWAYS get your own inspection to confirm).

Nine out of ten years it usually works in your favor, but that one down year could take a big bite out or your ***.  

Think about it: most of them are able-bodied adults who choose to live (mostly) free off the backs of others rather than contribute to society.Rent payments are usually steady, but Section 8 tenants took a lot more work upfront, throughout their tenancy and at the end of their tenancy.

We are unable to meet our financial goals.I don't usually speak ill of anybody but we decided we needed to make an exception.So be forewarned, fellow investors - there are disgusting people out there, running predatory companies with zero ethics - that will prey on investors and mistreat them in the name of "PRIVATE" lenders, right here in the United States!!

Even if you use piers, they are usually concrete (which is OK for most lenders), steel or wood on concrete.

Longer tenancies mean lower turnover and vacancy costs, so two single-family homes usually generate more reliable income and higher net cash flow than a fourplex.Vacancy risk: A fourplex has four times the vacancy risk of a single-family home.

Otherwise, yes you have to either excavate and repair and replace or run a pipe burst through the line, which is usually as expensive as excavating.