Long story short, you lose control of your property.

I would not invest if the good guys are losing ground, but that would run counter to your description that it is an appreciating area.It looks fine to invest in for the information you shared if the long term forecast for the area is safe and stable to improving.

Would you lose a large chunk of money?

And, yes, some failed subdivisions lose a LOT of value for landowners, all across the country. 

Flipping is 10x the time that wholesaling is, in or out of state, and if you don't pay attention you will lose and lose on contractors.A first flip will take you 2-3x longer than you think, cost 2-3x more than you think, and one contractor will walk with your money at least.What you are trying to do is to create a side hustle in real estate, but you are biting off things that you don't have time for.

So I had to call it off or risk getting a bad rep with the other realtors not too mention losing far more money.

You get laid off for a few months and you can lose everything.  

Only way to back out is to lose $20k and change.

I've seen tons of potential investors lose money by trying to guess what the market is going to do. 

At this point I'm ok with preserving my assets and not losing anymore money and owning a few quaiity properties not acquiring more doors.