Instead of spending a few thousand to remove the tree, you should be able to pour root killer in the line once or twice a year to ensure no further build-up.

That would have ruined my relationship with my sister if things went bad with this property.

This company has lost me thousands. 

it is very difficult - much more difficult than advertised, and more difficult now than it was a few years ago because of the increase in interest rates and the heightened competition for distressed deals.the issue is this: you're up against other investors and businesses spending tens and sometimes even hundreds of thousands of dollars a month on marketing. 

For instance, with STRs, why won't an investor spend an hour on AirBNB for their area to identify listings that:1) rank the highest2) occupancy 95%+3) ADR $750+4) hosts have 2+ properties5) listings are branded with 20k+ Instagram followersetcThen, reach out to those top operators; as many don't have the time or gave up on cold outreach, yet they've done the hardest 90%, have skin in the game, and outcompeted thousands of listings nearby.

I appreciate both your input.The minimum investment in both deals was $1,000 so it's not like I'm losing 10's of thousands here.

It is true that certain policies will accumulate significant cash value, but you either have to put in several thousands for a certain amount of years and let it season for a bit (Life Insurance Retirement Plan) or you pay your monthly/annual premium for quite a while and wait until you're in your 60's or 70's+ to have access to a good amount of cash value (Variable Universal Life).

Even if I were found guilty, the cost would be in the thousands, not in the millions.

I was looking at some online real estate courses and they cost thousands of dollars so thought it might be better to invest in syndication and get 15% or more returns.

I have seen it go up thousands of percents since I started accumulating.