In Hubzu's Defense one thing they do have going for them is you, the buyer, sees other buyer's bids.

When I was in the service my wife worked as a preschool teacher for the DOD (Department of Defense) school on base.

I'm just so glad that has never happened before here; someone asks for peoples experiences who have invested in a company or signed up for a mentorship and new members come out of the woodwork to come to the defense of the investmentc ompany/mentor programor convince us its not a scam.

You asking doesn’t mean you aren’t cut out for the STR industry lol 😂 I appreciate your words and defense.

What starts to emerge here as a red line is the importance of insurance as a primary line of defense.

I feel that you are on the defensive and missing the point of my input entirely.

Then I got lucky to marry someone like minded (and I recall the Millionaire Next Door (great book) also found that having a good "defense" or saving money was a key, common theme of the high net worth accumulators of wealth in the US)...Back to the question, I saved some money, but then I did not just bury it in the back yard (where you actually lose money due to inflation, or even put it in a savings account which also loses money relative to inflation), but I read Peter Lynch, Warren Buffett, John Bogle and put what little I saved (and we saved post marriage) into quality stocks and index funds...

Being defensive doesn't help, it just shows you got a short fuseI have said this  probably 50 times.....If you want to stay out of trouble and learn some basics of real estate investing...Read everything from these people@J Scott wholesaling, Buy his books on BP, cheapest Wholesaling education that is clear and useful and actionable@Brian Burke  @Bryan Hancock joint ventures and private lending and syndications@Bill Gulley every bank and financial regulation known to man and beast, Hell I bet he could decipher OSHA lol@Ken Rishel anything is going to do with regulations of mobile home parks and Dodd Frank@Jay Hinrichs an unusual level of experience in land, transactional funding, and running a re brokerage@John Jackson lease option law in Texas, executory contracts in Texas, and stand up comedy lol@Dmitriy Fomichenko and @Brian Eastman solo 401(k)s and Private LendingAnd without beating my own drum, I'm pretty good with negotiating terms deals with sellers, lease options, wrap mortgages, and installment salesI doubt the talent in this list is easily matched or exceeded anywhere on any other USA RE siteMy advice is to just follow these people and take some notes

You really seem defensive of RE. 

Apartments are different because the concentration of tenants increases the risks of ownership, there is a difference between someone who trips over a skateboard left on a step by a neighbor kid than by one left by your kid on the front porch.Insurance takes care of most risks, but not all, the risks not covered stem from your management and knowledge, which is the very best defense.