But as to best use of your money - leverage gives you 4 to  5 times the volume of properties that you control with the same amount of money invested.  

Make a little money on the price and a little on the interest rate.

And at the end of the day, paying taxes means you made money, so that's awesome! 

,We wanted to split the water meter, but we didn't have the time nor the money to do it. 

You can go after them in court, but you may not see that money.

its kind of a trade off because i can get a newer property at a higher price and down payment, or get something older, less down and then use that money to fix what i need to fix. 

The investment will be 12.5% cash on cash and an overall return on the money invested will be 48% over 2 years.

They walked away from their leases, took FEMA money to move (and maybe even replace some "damaged" possessions, and are now living in new housing on the taxpayers dime. 

You might still make some money...or you might loose just a little while you learn....but I think chances are unless you totally mess things up or every part of the deal goes wrong, you end up with most of your money back....AND you learn and develop some relationships.

For me I invest my SDIRA money in debt investments which typically are ordinary income when using w2 income and use my hard earned cash to buy properties.