It falls somewhere between getting struck by lightening and winning the lottery. 

But if you have a 40k loss due to something happening in a portion of the house, they'll cover it completely under the replacement cost policy.Now the downside to that is that if your house is totaled, you aren't getting the full value to rebuild it so you would be losing your equity there.For me, I'd rather save the 30% on my insurance (30% on 30 houses is a lot) than to use insurance as a form of a lottery ticket.

having liquid 300k is hardly dire. maybe look for a multi somewhere he could live in and maintain while tenants pay the nut. maybe buy 300k in lottery tickets. hard to say unless he knows what he wants.

@joe fairless give his tenants $1 lottery tickets.

Now, all that said pertains mainly to those with limited means, knowledge can replace capital requirements, that's why folks should learn rather than work offshoot deals trying to make the capital required.But, if someone is 22 years old, has common sense, wins the lottery, then by all means, jump into commercial, you can afford an attorney or 2 or 3, a good CPA, a CCIM will certainly assist you and you can hire management, buy a good deal and go sailing on your yacht! 

Not bad right...kind of lottery winnings maybe.

The East Bay has some great schools, while the SF school lottery is hit or miss so it's an attractive move for young families before their kids hit 5. 

That said....with enough deals....I might hit the real estate lottery once or twice before I am done.

Many people don't invest in them because it's playing the lottery in terms of snagging a property for pennies. 

Even people who play the lottery, I've never heard of anyone who said it was my first time I've ever played.Hang in there, You should be able to find some active investors in the NY area to help guide you in the right direction.