I've seen some where the studs were literally collapsing into a powder from rot.The last one we did was an old 60's era cast iron tub that we had refinished several times (about $280/treatment) but it peeled.

Could be clogged or collapsed footer drains, but this is not typically the issue in my experience.

HJ Bercy good questionThe tri-plex in my last post fell through due to a very old and collapsed septic system (I think I posted about it elsewhere).

Now I instead would worry about financial collapse, If your cash buys anything, prices will be so inflated, spending now on barter items is a better approach. 9mm & .223 ammo are my favorites...P.S.

Did you own any property in the 2008 Collapse of our Economy, when property values in Tampa lost 60% in two years?

Such setup does not pass a smell test as far as "for profit" operation and will collapse if audited.If there was an easy way to convert suspended passive losses into deductible non-passive losses, we all would've been doing it by now.

I had one of those back pressure sewer valves put in $500 installed.It made a BIG difference as the insurance co didn't want to include coverage as the home had a claim in the past (b4 I owned it, & the city sewer backup was not the fault of the home owner).In my area if it happens you're responsible for the temp accommodation of the tenant(s) until it's cleaned up.Since then the only blockage we had was viewed via camera & found to be a city clay sewer pipe collapse.

Yet in this world you can only control your own actions, and leave it to others to maintain their own degenerate, noxious and depraved state of affairs.In taking on this role complete with the unique privilege of executive arbitration between these tenants and the city government, one encounters a mutually synergistic mass of stupidity concentrating upon itself so far that even the neutrons have collapsed.

I have heard that there is more red tape to foreign investors due to the housing collapse . . . is that the case?

Totally get that the Cape and Islands are their own world (Actually probably 3 worlds...) but they are their own very small world that would probably at best generate a couple posts a year, so this is the only logical place to put them.If this is to many then frankly you keep the 3 eastern ones and collapse Central and Western MA into one.