However, I feel like I would be saving money in the long run since I won’t be paying interest on a mortgage loan and gambling that the house will cost less now than it would in 15 years.

Written to a younger audience, it's super easy to understand, and does a great job of explaining how stock picking is a huge gamble.3.

It's just like insurance and gambling; the house always wins. 

To be honest, it would not be in a neighborhood we would want to live in, so it would feel like "doing our time" in a relatively not as nice neighborhood to save cash. realistically it'll be more than the current rent after paying taxes, house maintenance, etc here, so I guess it's not really worth it for cash flow up front, you'd just be banking on the value of the property going up, which is a gamble I would not take in this sort of economy... but then again, it is Southern California, and I feel like there will ALWAYS be demand..

I really gambled on that one b/c if there was thats BIG remediation money. 

Is this a good idea, or is it too much of a gamble?

REO status would help, but make sure this is an investment and not too much of a gamble even @ 50% of asking.

My broker says paying assignment fees is gambling with a RE license as well.

It seems to attract the low-quality tenant, and I don’t wanna take that gamble.

I figured that any decreases in home prices would be offset by rental income, but that can be a gamble.