I attribute this to bad information on the internet and “Gurus” who sell the novice investor on the notion anyone can scale to a  large portfolio quickly.

I posted here as well that you may spark additional ideas:House Flippers Guide to Limiting Theft (biggerpockets.com)Stay safe and best of luck!

Or if it blew a tree over on the house/fence/AC unit it adds up pretty quickly.

It's great to have you here.Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/m...Read Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/r...Wishing you the best!

And the 1% norm, is now quickly becoming 1.5-2%. 

I realized really quickly while browsing the likes of Zillow that there aren’t simple turnkey 20-25% down properties and will need to be creative with a solution.

Based on their website it looks like a fairly small municipality so you should be able to get clarity fairly quickly.

Here are a few I recommend: "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Roberto Kiyosaki; "Set for Life" by Scott Trench; "The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing" by Spencer; "The BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide" found here on BP; "The Book on Rental Property Investing" by Brandon Tuner. 

We need to restore / respect property rights quickly.

It's a comprehensive guide to finding and funding a private loan in a safe and secure way with all the key considerations you need to be aware of before sending money to anyone.