Just give the authorities your travel information and say a prayer before you go. 

There is no demand at-all for these properties.So in a worst case scenario as you state, the amount of money to be lost may be smaller, but it has a much higher probability of occurring than say a California property not appreciating over time.  

I always recommend you do some google reviews and BBB reviews on any training program first to see what they say as well as BP reviews.As it relates to note training as a whole - I can pretty much tell everyone there is not a notes training course out there that will get you flipping notes.

If you put the 300k down on say a $1m multifamily, it's only going to get you a 2-family if you are lucky and rents in the range of about $7,000, again, if you are lucky.

Vegas is a perfect example U can buy a 400k rental there and in many  cases the taxs will be lower than say a 100k rental in Jackson MS.

also noting most people arent' aware but the credit score run by a mortgage lender and say a general lender like a bank are actually going to be different scores (and likely slightly different ranges) - with some greater weights on mortgage debt for the mortgage lender Credit Bureau settings

I’m wondering how much down payment I should put down on say a 200k house.

If we all pitch in and provide support, even if it’s just to say a kind word to them, we have a better chance of winning!

Now let's say you put your own sweat equity into a home that needed some work (so not a new home), I would say a cash-out refinance may make more sense two years after purchase where you possibly could take out cash. 

So, just speculating here, if they bought a slew of notes with the expectation of flipping them within a few months for say a 10% profit, but they have a hypothecated loan against these for say 12%+, and are still holding them 12 months later are quickly underwater.