All the "bad" affects them first.Pref equity has a known capped upside and more downside protection, but as @Lane Kawaoka said, getting paid and/or getting your money back is not a guarantee.

First - you have to mention what the syndication will do as that will have an impact on how you get taxed.Given that this is a real estate forum, it is assumed that you are investing in a syndication that will invest in real estate.Most real estate syndications purchase real estate in year 1 and have a plan of selling / exiting in year 5 or 7.Often times, the sponsor will get a cost segregation study which increases the loss on the K-1 presented to the investor in year 1.This may be important as it almost guarantees that there will be no taxable income from the syndication from year 1 to the year before exit.If the syndication does well and exits at a price more than purchase, it may result in a taxable income. 

Renting an individual room is all but guaranteed to be cheaper than them renting a 1/1 apartment alone.

If you buy in such a city, you are almost guaranteed to have limited appreciation and rent growth.If a city has significant and sustained population growth, then the current housing supply will be insufficient and prices will rise until the demand (the number of people willing and able to buy) roughly equals supply.Rental rates are closely tied to property prices.

You have to guarantee the loan but you are not a buyer of the property. 

Bob is right, you can get some high rent amounts from CMHA, but it's not always guaranteed. 

There's no guarantee that they will, and there's a cost to waiting. 

Portland has gone a step further, imposing requirements almost guaranteed to trigger unintended violations.

There is no 100% guarantee out there.Managing your property properly and having great insurance are probably the two best ways to protect yourself.

Many major leases at the shopping center owned by JPG Smith are coming due in the next 5-7 years, so the development is not guaranteed at this point as much could change in the coming 5-7 years.Even if JPG Smith does decide to renew the current leases instead of developing, there is a strong likelihood of office development being done on the vacant space adjacent to the new Tech campus. but between all of the development growth residentially, with employers like Amazon and Virginia Tech, and the new metro station, I would not be surprised to see JPG Smith move forward with the plan to develop this new business district.