The market doesn't keep pricing up to the moon forever, then things crash and burn.

I hope it crashes, but the government will do its best to pump it up artificially until they can hand it off to the next person.

Yes, investing with a GP that was around before the last crash is absolutely an advantage.

I focused on getting a degree, learning job skills, getting and building a career, saving my money, and bam when the housing market crashed in 2008, I bought a paid in cash house here with my savings even though I had to pay all my own bills since I was 18 (rent, car, etc.).

Equity earns 0% interest (inflation will destroy your purchasing power) your real estate investment will Appreciate or Crash regardless of how much down payment you put on your home.

Today my neighbor/tenant crashed into the wrought iron fence that fences off the property, warping the metal and causing a few problems.

For instance, during the crash of 2007/2008, national real estate prices dropped 19% and took 6 years to get back to the level they were at at the tip-top of the market.

A lot of these newer carriers hit the market with low premiums, they then have very little capital to pay claims when catastrophy hits and they end up crashing and burning or renewing at 200% the first year. 

We just hit bad timing because of the 07-08 crash. 

Don't listen to social media RE gurus who say you can buy RE "without using any of your own money and buy in inexpensive locations"  Listen to the experienced investors on BP who have been through full estate cycles including 2008 and market crashes.