Sounds like it was due to an unexpected lien that wasn’t discovered until 12 hours prior to closing, therefore they cancelled the closing that was set for Friday. 

There a lot of unexpected things that can happen that could make that cash flow negative quickly.

The only challenge experienced in this project was the seller left behind a lot of her belonging so my buyer had to hire a cleaning crew to move out all the junk, it was an unexpected expense, but was quickly resolved.

The houses have been vacant because the tenant was evicted and shortly after the owner died unexpectedly without a will. 

If anyone is willing to pay it forward and point me in the direction of an expert who would be able to guide me through creative options for company structure, ownership, operating agreement, etc. based on our specific circumstances, I would be most grateful and delighted to return the favor in the future. :-)

There are closing costs and you want to make sure you have money for the unexpected repairs as well as the expected maintenance.  

But be prepared to have savings on hand for unexpected expenses if you own a rental.

I can probably afford to keep going in the hole if I have to, but if the tenants move out unexpectedly or I need a big repair in the next year or two, I will be in big trouble.

Huge chunks of money and time flow toward unexpected projects.

Just because it may it happened quickly or it was unexpected doesn’t mean it’s not in the right alignment for your journey.