@Ashley Price - On more than one occasion my wife has taken out a 5-figure personal loan so that we could use those funds as 20% down-payment to purchase a distressed property with a hard money / rehab loan.

The peak of this movie is billions for programmers and $120K+ Bitcoin. 

I don’t personally focus on specific markets, rather I like diversity.

We have since purchased another personal home, (and actually have a heloc on that as well.) 

But here’s what I see a lot of people never really factor in until they’re already in deep:     The mental load of being the “everything person.”You’re the emergency contact when the HVAC dies at midnight.You’re the diplomat when a guest trashes your short-term rental.You’re the problem solver when your contractor ghosts mid-flip.You’re the one watching market news every night, second guessing every move.I’ve seen people with great numbers on paper who burn out because they didn’t factor in the weight of always being “on call.”Some people push through it.

I think that the guy they collared for Bitcoin fraud may be another example because the Bitcoin he bought illegally actually appreciated.   

For personal vs. maintenance use, a day is not considered personal if your primary purpose is to perform repairs or maintenance (not improvements) and you or your spouse work at least 4 hours that day.

If you maintain the ownership / business personally you may be personally liable for anything that happens at that rental.   

I have a property in the pipeline where the owner is deceased, and property is in preforeclosure. No equity in the home. Would the foreclosing lender allow me to pay the PR of the estate in order to go through with a ...

The challenge here seems to be less about the deal itself and more about structuring financing in a way that doesn’t require personal guarantees.