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.. 

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.

Out of state may be your best bet, everyone on this thread has suggested great markets.

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

I also read in real estate by the numbers that it's risky to bet on market appreciation.

@Robert Lum  you bet you can troll around a site like BP read their books listen to the pod cast of those that are successful and talk about their business's.. its inspiring and motivational.but if you really want to learn the nuts and bolts you need to get in the game.the best and least expensive way to do that is to simply take a pre license course in your state.. learn the laws ( the real laws not the BS that is talk about on line).. terminology etc. then go to work with a brokerage in the aspect of Real estate that interest  you.. there you will get REAL training by those that are successful you get on a team.. you get paid as you learn.

@DeBret McGee IIYour best bet is to secure a deal with creative financing, seller financing or meter lease options.

I could maybe sign up with that theory if the GPs were using the side hustle money as a way of cutting or eliminating their fees & salaries altogether while they try to hang in long enough to hope for enough rate cuts to refinance or the market to unfreeze and let them unload at least at break-even, but I bet none of them do anything of the kind. 

If you are in a high fire zone, the California Fair Plan is likely your best bet.