You did well with the appreciation gamble. 

I could have  bought a 2 or 3 million dollar building made 100 k net a year instead of spending it .. but never have a potential 30 mil upside.. so yes speculation and gambling thats what we do.. but we also use our noggin to buy the right properties.. not just some rental house and hope for the best.

It's also the reason that investing in rentals does not make financial sense in Seattle unless gambling on appreciation.Lubbock seems to look worse every time I visit because there are few incentives to fix up older properties.

Listen to @Gino Barbaro He and his partner have consistently demonstrated they know how to buy multifamily properties at one "grade" - improve both the properties and tenants - then refinance "profitably" You should reach out to @Sarah Gamble who is also active in Ft City

However, I see more listings with price drops lately as flippers investing in suspect areas are not winning that gamble.

Of course, if you are so wealthy that shelling out cash each and every month on a property doesn't bother you then go ahead and gamble with the appreciation game but realize its nothing more than chance whether or not the property will appreciate in the short term.

It's not impossible to do this but it would be like a very high form of gambling.

I am willing ot gamble that no left field event can possibly occur in the future that would change my situation enough that I might need to sell.Just on those 2 it's speculative and high risk investing, again IMHO.

That is a great way to start learning.Secondly, if you don’t know what you are doing in real estate, it is kind of like gambling and your returns will likely be low or you may even lose money.One of the biggest benefits that the content that BiggerPockets has to offer is it teaches people how to identify good deals or properties where equity can be created in a relatively quick timeframe.

if they are going to seem to be able to delay an eviction for 4-5 months then its worth a gamble under the right circumstances.