I purchased a single family to rent out the rooms and it sent my finical plan completely off course because I was not as ready as I previously thought.

Quote from @Srikanth Kumar: Hi Everyone,I’m relatively new to long-distance investing and am exploring the purchase of multifamily properties in Cleveland.

The substitute of collateral was more of a scenario where you sold for $155K, and instead of paying off the $88K loan in your scenario, those funds stayed at the title company and were used on a cash purchase happening nearby in date. 

After years of focusing on my career and building financial stability, I’m ready to dive into real estate investing and start creating passive income and long-term wealth.My short-term goal is to purchase my first duplex or single family rental. 

I would be willing to bet on a version of that, and will, in effect, through my real estate purchases this year.Also - to be clear, I am not arguing that the policies will be "good" or "bad" in a more general sense for Americans. 

Everyone has the right to write about their experience but I would be more inclined to pay attention to the review of someone who has been playing video games for years than the person in your example who purchased their first Xbox with no past experience.

However, achieving success in this space requires more than purchasing property—it takes strategy.

Process is simple. 1. purchase contract2. send contract to title company3. bring cash to closing and you're done

I've personally found the bulk of my Chicago purchases off the MLS.

What this leads to is higher purchase prices but also higher rents in these areas.