If they give you a reason to fear for your life, press the magic button and we will come out clean up the mess and apologize"I did just that, in the middle of the night after a 9-hour drive.

Let me just say that if you own a community that has vacant lots and think they are just going to magically fill themselves, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I would like to sell you.

If I knew the answer to this question, I'd be a lot better off.Sadly there are many, many untrustworthy contractors. I live in the land of South Florida where the worlds most shady contractors congregate.In the past 5...

The new agents brand new or a few years in believe all this crap will make them magically successful so they spend their last dime on it.

And it's not like all those problems magically stop happening as you get more seasoned.

Is it then a non-negotiable, magical-absolute that can protect you from every eventuality?

I know that when most folks ask for creative, magic bullets to undue the damage of past poor financial decisions they are not looking to hear that the solution includes living on "rice and beans" while you create a little bit of margin for yourself, but that's what it takes.

This is my greatest fear heading into the coming depression - that the morons in the government will waive their magic pens and make evictions illegal (or delay them).

I see from your profile you are casting a pretty wide net, which is good for you.I can't speak for California, but where I'm at flipping and wholesaling are pretty much dead.I'd buy 'em if I could find 'em, but what's available gets bid up by TV-dreams besotted wannabes who slap on a coat of designer paint, dial up the curb-appeal and then hold multiple open-houses, usually attended by idle neighbors and bemused investors.Then, a couple months down the road, comes the inevitable ad for "Executive Rental" at a price that bleeds cash while the owners desperately pray for a return to the good old days of magical appreciation and NINJA loans.

An LLC is not a magic cloak of invincibility for owning real estate.