So many folks will scream that buying negative cash flowing RE is "gambling".

It was definitely a gamble, because I was assembling furniture up until the night before their check-in :o I only had an opportunity to advertise on FF, because it was the first place we posted and it got enough inquiries right away.

It's more gambling than anything else.

However, the vacancy is really low in my area and prices are really high so it’s a gamble most house hackers take.

The alternative would be to find someone unlicensed/unbonded whish would be cheaper, but would be a gamble.

If you aren't willing to learn that investment asset, then you can either:1. find someone you trust to help you invest into that asset2. put money in low/no risk investment assets and just accept the low return3. blindly go into an investment asset and basically gamble.

With leverage you are using the houses money to gamble and not yours.

Do they do it uncontrollably and feel shameful about it? 

Your luck may be better and you are not assigned to the jokers I dealt with, but it would not be worth the gamble for me.

I will take less profit in a hotter area that sells faster than gambling on a small town/slow area with "potential" for higher profits.