That is a gamble and it should not play a factor in your purchase.  

I don't see the cash being taxed everywhere matching the appreciation --- which is a gamble, but real estate investing is speculation, or at least has been since colonial days in this country/region. 

wild/ sad/ unbelievable/ Fraudulent/gross negligence/ and plain dumb.. what an opportunity they had but Morris blew it big time.

Walking in, making untruthful representations, using deceit, and entering into contracts under fraudulent pretenses is NOT the way to operate.

(Cashflow from other investments make this possible) They invest following the macro and micro trends and don’t gamble on gimmicks such as guessing where Amazon’s next HQ is going or where the hurricanes just crushed a market.

In fact, I had a situation where someone was fraudulently copying one of my VRBO listings and posting it on Craigslist for a lot less money and with fake info.

If I wanted to gamble on appreciation with little to no cashflow, I might buy in one of the places you listed. 

I've found some on Craigslist that were pretty good but that can be a gamble.  

I think at this time it's all sort of a controlled gamble.

We all go through life taking varying levels of risk, This is one I'm willing to gamble on, hiring a competent handyman.