As a a contractor during the recession I did a ton of bank owned work, and it was a lot, thousand of properties we managed.We have 8 meth labs that I remember and the company that came out charged over 50k for a meth lab clean up. 

For example, If I bought a house during the recession for $200k, renting it out for $2k/mo, and now it is appraised for $350k (no work went into the house, we just got lucky with the market).

Some of the same millennial pioneers who chanced it and bought properties in the wake of the recession in places like Ohio City, a near-west neighborhood, now find themselves struggling to continue living there."

I have property in Northern VA, but I bought it during recession.

:)  I got started in RE by becoming a homeowner first during the great recession, and then becoming an accidental landlord. 

The ones in my area that now are worth $65k were selling for $10 - $15k during the recession.  

(House was in Highland Park, Los Angeles)Purchase price: $600kRehab: $94k - Full rehab: new layer of shingles on roof, 13 new windows, all new doors, new laminate floors, new 3' front retaining wall, full gut kitchen (new cabinets, quartz countertops, tile backsplash), 2 full gut bathrooms (new tub, floor tiles, wall tiles, vanities, faucets, toilets, vanity lights), converted one closet into a washer/dryer closet, created a master ensuite with a hallway bath, opened up some walls, recessed lights throughout, scraped popcorn ceiling, installed new HVAC, interior paint, exterior paint, stucco repair, new landscaping front and rear of house, new wrap around deck, installed double french doors master bedroom and garage, to new tankless water heater, new exterior lights, updated light plumbing and electrical, new garage door with motor, and some other normal repairs like replacing drywall, floor boards, and replacing some wood trims like facia boards.    

It’s the unskilled work force that will fare far worst IMO in the next recession.

It helps to get some more skin in the game because if the market goes into a recession again then you have some equity in the property that may help, if you plan on having this property till retirement then it doesn't matter and just hang out of the big cash flow and buy more non-depreciating assets!

I really don't know much about it at all except when people say "oh, its a cash cow" "oh, its recession-proof" etc...