😂I bet others would too, we're all a little disturbed to be in this business....... 

No one knew those you listed would not be good bets before they weren't. 

In Metro Detroit area, police will not remove these types of occupants (they are afraid of scamming landlord having police remove legal tenants), calling them a "civil matter" forcing landlord to start court eviction process. thats a good question Drew.. but I bet if the police are aloud just a little bit of fact checking and do police work they can determine the fraud very quickly.. 

Networking and doing as much research (reading, etc) before starting are you best bets. 

My son just joined the Navy and now that I’m an empty nester I want to make a shift and bet on myself!

If anyone wants to know about the deal that folded for us with them please let me know we dont' have any confidentiality agreements or anything. time for the free market to win and direct buyer new build purchases to occur. 

OOS investing seems to be your best bet.

I'd bet if there were a good field of competition the price would drop

If the real estate is producing a steady return, you can make more aggressive bets with stocks or other alt assets.

Getting multiple contractors involved will be your best bet to get a reliable estimate, though you need to come up with a scope of work.