There are also horror stories about people loosing their property in Spain. 

One fire they had lit under and under pass and weakened it and it failed :)  Also they burn up their RVs and campers pretty often then the basic tent fire...

Every tax season, I see people unintentionally overpaying the IRS.

So thanks for contributing because you have helped more people than you know!  

@Jason Sinclair, having a designer for a wife, I would answer that it really depends heavily on each house, the flow and usability of the spaces as they are, and the overall use of space in the house as a whole.That being said, while there may be a small shift towards more separated spaces, "open concept" is by no means dead, and in many markets, most people seem to still want to have connectivity between their communal spaces.In fact, my wife's current flip is a split level (although technically it is a split-foyer), and she is taking out a structural wall to connect the kitchen, dining and living areas.  

Only thing I'd say is that I've seen a slight tightening of the market as more people hear about the model.

Your goal is to build a passive real estate portfolio (we can discuss what passive means to you), so while I don't condone throwing $100k into a deal without even a basic understanding, alternatively doing so will teach you far more lessons than reading a book will.  

I’m here to gain insight into the investment side of things, and connect with people already familiar.

But yes, now that we are here, maybe let him know that if things do not get up to date or cleaned up you will go to his superiors.When people are late right at the beginning, I let them know that the behavior is not acceptable and let them know there are consequences to that bad behavior. 

There are so many people that are having HUGE success in this market.