There is much to learn: pricing, marketing, screening, contract law, lease enforcement, late/unpaid rent, property abandonment, squatters, maintenance, tenant neglect or abuse, communication, and 417 other things.Buying a decent property but not managing it well can impact your finances, marriage, sanity, physical health, and desire to invest.

In some very attractive markets like coastal cities I can see it being worth it not to rent the unit or rent it only under very limited circumstances in the low season because the high season is just too lucrative to allow anything to affect those bookings.

I’ve used seller financing as both a buyer and a seller and it can make a lot of sense in certain circumstances (for example I used it as a buyer when I reached the maximum number of conventional loans I could get, and I’ve used it as a seller to both increase my net proceeds (due to collecting interest as “the bank” in addition to the sales proceeds) and to lessen my capital gains tax hit by spreading it out over a few years).

Both loan servicing companies and insurance companies can be such a nightmare to work with even under normal circumstances.

The empty ones already in place in CA, neglected to, ya know, have water in em. 

My point is define Relatively what circumstances are you inferring?  

To guard against neglectful tenants, the leases do say that repairs to the refrigerator, washer and dryer will be made at the discretion of the landlord.

I imagine there are more neglected homes like this with some potential in your area.

While the circumstances may seem entertaining, the reality is this is not a laughing matter.

I have experienced some of these very circumstances, and in California.