If I don't allot the 50% rule with the next property I buy, I could become an overleveraged bankrupt idiot.

To me, the worst case scenario is that my investment somehow bankrupts me.When we made the move, we lost around $250/month for several years.

I believe this works best on a cash basis when you are first starting out, because you can make mistakes and not be bankrupted, i.e. you don't have a lender breathing down your neck.

On my first rentai , I had no clue , I had a young woman and her boyfriend want to rent my house , he just went bankrupt , had the IRS on him .

Slip and falls, claims of LL negligence, code violations that lead to injury or death are issues that can bankrupt you if you hold a property in your personal name.

Thats ok, i'm not bankrupt...yet.Honestly I just wish I could find the right buy instead.

I went through a divorce that bankrupted me and left me with all the marital debt (nice combination).

Find other furniture salespeople, and when you do find the furniture guy who went bankrupt find out what he or she did wrong.I've always known people who weren't successful in the same endeavors that I've taken on, but I chose and still choose to this day to focus on the people that I know that ARE successful in the endeavors I am doing.

Anyone ever been in my situation who DIDN't sell & end up bankrupt?

Many successful business people have gone bankrupt as some point, after all.