If the market cycle changes; if your area of interest isn’t right; if you don’t have sufficient capital or credit; and if your not a “fit” for the work necessary to close the transaction, then you might have thrown $15,000 or $40,000 or MORE down the drain.  

And, for many, it's a cycling action much like body builders do of growth, consolidation, growth, consolidation, evolving up along the way. 

He got caught up in a vicious cycle of constantly fixing things in an effort to get paid at all.

My family bought SFRs in early 80's w mortgage rates >18%, but high inflation drove rents higher than debt expenses so they all cash flowedalso look at USFR, paying 5.37%, holds 8 week Tbill floating rate notes only, not as good obviously as buying Tbill directly at the top of the curve (i bought a 26weeker in late Sept at 5.6%) but much easier to transact, i suspect 10yr will fall over next 2 yrs (FED cycle) then slowly rise over next 30-35yrs (long us debt-deleveraging cycle)

How easy they are to find will depend on where you are in the market cycle. 

Attached is a screen shot of my passive investing returns for every apartment complex I've invested in that has gone full cycle and sold.

A lot of investors and sponsors have a decade of experience which sounds great, but they've never been through a cycle. 

Usually, markets move in 8 to 10 year, cyclical cycles.

So over the last 10 years or so you guys are just picking up those foreclosures and the cycle repeats the values MAYBE are getting back to 2002 values where I started..

There are many more, but this might be a very fordable fix if you have a place for it. https://www.amazon.com/Cycling...Also, consider instituting laundry room hours and locking the door at night.