Buying in Baltimore , IMHO , is not investing , its gambling , and the odds are not in your favor 

There's also the issue of risk - someone with only 30% at stake, may gamble a LOT more than you would gamble with your 70%.Also, strategize and think through worse-case scenarios for fraud.

Good wording -- folks need to understand the value of insurance, gambling against themselves for their family's sake.

Looks like a nosedive over time vs a tumble--It's why stocks are a gamble (just like Roulette in Las Vegas).Real Estate holds it's value over time, and you can "fix it up"--you have some control over it.The US Government manipulates these stock prices, so maybe they just failed to pay off "The Correct" people or something (or maybe they did and it's way worse then we know).https://www.businessinsider.com/does-the-government-actually-manipulate-the-stock-market-2010-2

If I don't analyze a listing before I take it I'm essentially gambling and I'm not a gambler. 

But, they will want to know what caused the chapter 13 (job loss, medical debts, auto accident, etc - which are the most common or was it something like gambling debts (which isn't going to get you what you want).

It's nearly impossible to get in the game unless you have a ton of capital and you're willing to accept lower returns (because so many investors and developers around there gamble with appreciation).Start studying other markets.

I like my investors to keep their investment, not gamble it all away. ;-)

Take calculated risks based on your own risk tolerance, don't make decisions on a gamble or without verifying it for yourself, and don't pretend to know what you're doing if you have no idea what you're doing.

She had built up a buyers list of real buyers over the years, and was willing to gamble with relatively small option fees when a seller was willing to price correctly.Now, it can be argued that she should, or at least could acquire a brokers license.