My belief is if he had that kind of money, why not pay the mortgage.

I just ripped out a 32 month old carpet that was trashed beyond belief, for example (lesson - no carpet in rentals.)

We could get into my personal beliefs on the circumstances that creates the hood but I would probably get kicked off this site, lol, and it is different from the point I was trying to make in regards to RE investing.  

@Russell Brazil is exactly on point, 2% rule works when the properties are cheap cheap cheap.The rule stems from the belief that (a) half of gross rent will go towards expenses, and (b) .6-.7 of the rent goes towards the mortgage payment. 2%-1%-.7% = .3% monthly profit.It's a very conservative formula, but just explaining why some investors stick to it.

@Paul Sandhu I think your assessment of people not going to Disney once the parks open back up is a bit misguided.

I have some limiting beliefs about them, since they are available to EVERYONE online, I assume they are more saturated than the in person auctions.

As the manager, you have day-to-day control, which makes that company a disqualified party.Your perception that flipping is entirely tax free inside of a retirement plan is misguided.  

My core belief - make sure you have cash flow.

However, everyone has their own opinion based on their own beliefs or past experiences. 

What it mainly takes is the due diligence to read deep into what and why certain investors invest where they do, and seeing if you align with those particular belief systems.