Likewise, since hard money has become less accessible, you will see a smaller quantity of players but the ones that remain will be cash heavy.

The mere fact that you are likely to find an honest one, is probably comparable to hitting it big at a casino.

I finance these assets all the time, and I always have to explain to my newer (and experienced investors actually) that leverage in the small balance multifamily game is capped at 75% for a vast majority of the players, in a healthy market. 

Learn who the players are, what they are focusing on, ask them questions, etc. 

The major difference here is that the recession in 2008 was caused players within the real estate sphere.

If your sill player is rotted anyways youll need that money to pay a carpenter to replace it before you have worse problems. 

“Instead, they built an expensive lifestyle feeding off of it.”...Smaller players have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars each buying homes for short-term rentals.

All of the big players in the management space will NOT collect a deposit due to the way the law is structured. 

The modern casino’s are also a good time and will too be up and running again before you know it.

I am not a big player at all right now, but I’m happy to share the little bit of experience I have.