It seemed like things were on track, and I looked forward to my first promised quarterly payment.

And doing whatever you can to cover costs make a few bucks while you hold it is just icing.

So I just am not a participant at all any more (personally, not investment-wise), and through my agent I know there's a lot of people where I am on this track. 

I really appreciate any insights on land investment that is along the rail road track. 

How will you track them if they stop paying rent, trash the property, and disappear?

@Margaret Dreesen1) You typically cannot use the SD to cover damages while the tenant is still living in the property w/o the tenant's written approval.2) Even if tenant agrees, not a sound business strategy as now you have nothing to cover possible damages when tenant moves out.3) Filing a claim on your own insurance is also business-foolish, as now your claim will track you in the insurance world for about 5-7 years and if you have another claim - may lead to cancellation or spike in premiums.4) Tenant is 100% responsible for the damages!

Rental Arbitrage DOES work but they operator needs to have a track record. 

The seller would have to carry a very large second mortgage and this point will stop many deals in its tracks... but it's not impossible and it would definitely work if you can get the seller to agree to carry a large second.The other high LTV scenario would also involve a hard money lender and instead of cash we can cross collateralize with other real estate you own assuming there is sufficient equity in said holdings.The challenge in this scenario would be the cost of the hard money... it may be workable on the 140 units, assuming you are getting a good enough deal on place.

I only track the mileage driving to specific properties.

For a performing loan, it appears you are on the right track as its just the cashflows in vs. out.