Granted, they had the benefit of relatively low purchase prices relative to rental income; low interest rate loans they were able to refinance into and (generally) rising house values.  

Last appraisal we got was $560k (*the reason the appraiser said it was so low was because there weren't enough similar houses sold to really base my home price off of).Upstairs is a duplex 4b, 2baBasement is 1b, 1baShared laundry roomMy wife and I live in the basement and tenants live above us. 

But I get it takes away one who does really hard work tracks a sale that fell through the crack and the opening bid  is super low..

If your material participation consists of mostly time to manage bookings, this may not make logical sense with a low number of stays. 

I mostly do condos in Edmonton because of the low downpayments and cash flow similar to a single family home without needing property management. 

You're so lucky the propane tank wasn't closer...or the electrical lines...or the tree.It did melt the lower low voltage lines but the tree will recover.

Are you choosing to work in this market, or are you randomly making low offers on Zillow properties that are high days on market? 

Or do all the units somehow have to be rented to low income families in some way?

Low Profile: Wholesaling demands sourcing off-market deals that are priced below their market value.

I get all my money back (usually) and I still make an easy $300-400 off the top as the mortgage payments are so low and rents are so high.