You may be right that in a down economy, my low cash flows may make me vulnerable.

A lock box seems too vulnerable.... it would contain cash and there is too much personal information on an application, including the social security number.

They are more vulnerable to personal lawsuits outside of the LLC protection.

They capture a person's vulnerabilities then exploit the buyers motivations of getting educated about a process called "wholesaling"! 

Scott Trench, that's my worry, the higher interest rates and shorter terms scare me because 1) it might kill the cash flow and 2) I rather not be vulnerable to higher interest rates that are likely to be a reality in the years ahead (shorter terms/balloon payments scare me a bit bc of that).  

Once you have properties, you're vulnerable to lawsuits.

Who would have thought that the new rules to protect vulnerable tenants would make it harder to find housing in the future.  

It's amazing how much easier it is to obtain loans because of a corporate job that's often significantly more vulnerable (at least was the case in my former situation) than in self employment.

Properties can sit vacant unrented for extended periods, and not only requiring the PMs to offer free rent periods and reduced rent but worse still your property could then be vulnerable to theft which unfortunately happens a lot.

The squatter(s) found a point of obscured vulnerability under a deck (an old boarded-up basement window) and exploited it.