The backyard was a wreck... and I knew I could sweat equity clean it up and show the tenants I was improving things... and then negotiated a rent raise across the board to almost double what it was when I bought it!

If the house was a wreck and needed a complete rebuild, one could alter the layout dramatically, hugely improving things. 

I ended up getting into syndication on the investor side (instead of doing turnkey) because I found the increased number of doors of an apartment complex, lowered my risk of one bad tenant wrecking my ROI.

But of course it would predicate 100% on the asset, if it was a wrecked 4 plex built in 1860 with years of pending cap ex then no.. this is assuming it would at least break even. 

Kinda like watching watching a car wreck.

I'm a nervous wreck at this point as it is my first RE investment and I really don't know what I'm doing.

That came into play when I was working with investors who were looking at dilapidated, abandoned wrecks. 

The house was a wreck.

Guy thinks its the HOA or my sons issue and is really ticked off when he comes back because he has $1600 bill and towing charge and a wrecked car the insurance won't cover.

If you completely shut down the property between guests it would be a wreck....