I have not received any return on my money. 

There's many ways to get into a deal with low to no money down!

Quote from @Brandon Morgan: If you screw up a deal with a friend or relative, you will lose money and the relationship.

During this time you are not generating any return from the money invested in the ADU.

It may some disgruntled students who joined, but realized real estate was not for them, and sued to get their money back. 

For example, a person can go to  a 10 —-13 week school for dental assistant… finish the course get a certificate and have an immediate job making somewhere around 43k plus.. yeah I know it’s not a ton of money, but it’s a good base especially for folks that don’t want to go to college.

We found this existing short term rental just needed a few tweaks to help it make more money.

I make a decent amount of money nearly from my W-2 (over 100k) but still not enough to easily buy another property this year especially if I have to put down 20%.

Don't underestimate how much money you could spend when you're trying to get an airbnb ready. making it unique is very important, and it's very easy to overspend!

They all are if you ask them , its because they are getting your money .