She basically told me the same thing you said about the risk of REI investing being way too high for newbies to justify the reward and time spent.

This is a significant down side to me as a long term investor as it basically wipes out your cash flow. 

Not sure about delusional but it's not unusual for us to have to do a genuine drain & fill several times a month during high seasons if we've rented to large groups with kids.

We follow a similar model as @Bill B. and with similar results, except our properties are from the 60s, so we gut them and rehab from the studs up, basically resetting the clock. 

Well if you go together it could split it and get basically nothing - spend $2-3k file a lawsuit and get a judgment you are first in line… Also in many instances you can slap that judgment on his personal residence as well and foreclose on that.

The last 5 deals I bought were all basically move in ready, bought only at a slight discount after deals fell through. 

Basically cash in the bank is a very good way to get an approval on bigger loan amounts or in general.

Tired landlords have been the sellers in most of the situations, but also kids who inherited a probate house, and don’t have the resource to fix it up.  

Basically, flip partnerships suck unless you spend a long time being clear about the roles and payouts, etc.

It’s an attached HPR, basically a duplex that is zoned as two single family homes.