Without reading the article (I heard about it on the news) I'd say we now have enough national data to come to a statistical view of the national situation, that doesn't mean that every market is above water.

Which sounds statistically more dangerous?

I've followed him for nearly a decade and he's second to none in statistics and economic insight in that area.

There are investors that do this kind of thing with HUD homes as well.They sign paperwork at closing that they are occupying the property.Another component of this is fraud to a lender on a loan if you say you will be living there.The reason is lenders give certain rates to owner occupants because statistically you will fight much harder to keep a place you live in.If it's just a bad investment it is easier to walk away hence a higher rate and more down.This property from what you said is 2,400 X 12 = 28,800By half is 144,000 at a 10 cap based on 50% costs.The carpet and paint the bank put lipstick on it it appeal to a home buyer living in one unit and driving the price up.On a quad typically you could expect about 8,000 for the siding,4,000 for the roof,6,000 for 4 outside A/C units,if interior bathrooms and kitchens are outdated about 4,500 by 4 units is 18,000,then water heater and heater about another 6,000 total.So conservatively I have about 42,000 in immediate CAPEX.Every areas cost is different so I am just throwing mine out there.Now the other you say 20 quads total is what you need to worry about.If there are a bunch of short sales and foreclosures from vintage 2004,2005 loans then the new purchaser with a cash offer or a small debt service will rent below market to fill quickly and turn more or the same monthly cash as you.So you starting out at 600 rent monthly might go to 550 or 525 in your development.I have seen this happen.I have also seen even if your building is well kept quality tenants do not want to live next to the other buildings where landlords put in suspect tenants to fill up.Also some landlords with high debt service will drop rent instead of repair to keep tenants so they won't spend tens of thousands out of pocket to rehab.

Let us know what you find.Sure, you can be successful without a degree, but statistically, the odds are much, much, much higher if you do have a degree.

Just know this is what the statistics tell us.1.

I don't know the nationwide statistics or where you are, but where I am about 75%+of the sales to 55+ are for cash.

I saw a recent statistic that some 60% of houses in this area that enter pre-foreclosure do end up going to the sale.

I do not want to simply become a statistic, I want to learn from this experience (as painful and embarrassing as it may be).

The website should have a "Bid Statistics" link that will show you all of the bids 10 days after a bid has been accepted.