In fact, my wife always asks me if I have my handgun before I leave the house.The fact is that in this business, we not only have the chance of meeting a criminal by accident in a vacant property, but we also meet criminals on a daily basis in the rental business (they are called applicants).

I'm really enjoying the weather, cool nights and sunny days.I DON'T MISS TEXAS.I plan on spending another month or so getting grounded in the local nuances so I don't accidently buy in a degrading neighborhood, but I have made a couple of great local contacts.And of course I'll still be on here spreading my sarcasm.All cash

Last year, for instance, I was unexpectedly confronted by a loose pit bull who wanted a serious piece of me before I dashed inside and called the doggie police.

But when you purchase a really cheap house you have to take into account that there will probably be more things to repair and replace - potentially costing you more in unexpected costs.

My wife and I were planning on funding an emergency fund to cover unexpected maintenance and vacancies, but were hoping to keep that money and finance the property with a 100% or 95% loan.

Got into the mortgage business in 1995 and got into investing by accident.

We will only do so, however, by accident - not as part of the game.

That, to me, sounds like a bad accident waiting to happen.

Personally (and I think a lot of people here would agree), a return like that isn't worth the effort of having to manage the property (you could get a slightly smaller return from a savings account), and the big risk is if you have any deferred maintenance or unexpected expenses, at which point you could easily go cash flow negative.While I've seen a lot worse deals asked about on this forum, this one isn't particularly great...especially in this market where great deals are available on every corner.

For every item I knew needed to be fixed or replaced, 4 more unexpected items turned up.