Is the main disadvantage that property values are more volatile (so you would get hit harder in a crisis)?

@Ryan MontesAs this crisis showed, being local is not a good requirement.

@David NutakorYes and no.If appraisal was the only thing that mattered, we would not have 2008 crisis, and people would not lose money.Right now, housing stock is low and prices are high.Also, if you decide to sell, people should show interest in that location for that price, and they need to qualify to buy that house etc etc...So yes appraisal matters, but it does not tell the whole story

@Brian BurkeIt would be great to know why this crisis can use the same playbook that worked for many of us in 2008.

I managed the housing crisis well because we purchased the home based upon a single income rather than as a DINK, but not so for most, so even before the crash of '08 started, my neighborhood went into foreclosure.

Especially now, in the current mortgage crisis, FHA guaranteed loans are the principal means to qualify for and afford a low cost, low interest home loan.

Is there a real estate crisis over there that i'm not aware of?

That's really the underlying cause of this crisis.

The state is not going to write a check to someone who significantly upgraded their home in the middle of a crisis - and your tenant knows that.

Lenders have learned a lot from the housing crisis and use a number of loan fraud detection tools today.