Instead, our job is to help kids overcome setbacks, to help them see that progress over time is more important than a particular win or loss, and to help them graciously congratulate the child who succeeded when they failed.

That would be a a manageable setback for someone earning the median US income.$25K is half the median individual income and would be a crushing setback for most people (that do not earn their money back). 

Once you get the the second "R" and find out there is some sort of major complication in the project you can be set back years if it is your first investment. 

It was under the regulatory limit so it didn't require the full permit process but it followed the same protocol.Numbers are as follows.Purchase Price $450,000Hard money costs $16,000Holding costs 2.5 months $10,000Repair costs $21,000Lot split (survey and attorney) $5,000Real Estate Commission on Sale @ 6% of sale price $42,000*Sale Prices ($350,000, and $345,000) = $695,000Profit before taxes = $151,000. 

That said, when you claim to be in the business of dealing in real or personal property, then you are exposed to regulatory requirements as a dealer.

Like I said this was more common prior to stricter enforcement came into play after 2007-2010, and your article is from the time period directly after that when regulatory bodies started cracking down on it. 

Having lived there, Tallahassee does have its setbacks like Account Closed said. 

And of course when coupled with a lease... that's a whole new regulatory mess, so much so that that the NC legislature got involved to put in minimal rules for 'legal' lease options.

The existing dwelling would have violated the side setback lot line if we had tried to create a 4th lot on the side of the existing house.