It is a gamble, especially if you are out of state.

These aren't issues that are specific to flipping and should be a primary focus for any real estate investment - The bottom line is that you made a profit despite the challenges you faced - and congratulations for that - but it seems to the bystander that you gambled with another investor's money while investing very little of your own - you put yourself in the position of a teacher or mentor when in fact you are not extremely experienced in the business of flipping - consider how you would feel if you lost a portion of your partner's investment....Today I am closing on the purchase of my 15th flip for the year, and I wouldn't dream of taking on an investment partner who wasn't equally experienced and had an equal say in the decision process.Good Luck with your future projects and Happy Investingjeff 

You’ll learn how Paul discovered the vital difference between investing and speculating, why falling in love (with a deal) is incredibly dangerous, and the huge real estate gamble that Paul made that cost him $40,000.

Its educated gambling..... and you may hit a grand slam...or you may get punched in the nuts...... its personal decision on your risk tolerance.Sometimes that huge leap of faith and "screw it, I'm going for it" can reap huge rewards....and sometimes it doesn't.For every "I bought it sight unseen and its doing great", I would easily bet there are dozens that have been totally screwed...some of them don't even know it yet.

. :)ya we sure hate that gambling for appreciation.. but some folks have to live with it.. good job.

Get very familiar with the eviction process in your market and follow things to the letter and quickly.Make sure to vet tenants thoroughly and pick wisely (and even then it is a gamble). 

Might as well rent unless you want to gamble on appreciation.

You a gambling man?

Banking on appreciation is gambling.

Often credit can be put aside when tenants have other strong characteristics like a high paying job, and long rental history, with glowing recommendations from both employer and previous land lord.