At one point, I worked for a different operator who lived through the previous recession and even ended up giving back properties to the bank that were bought in 2006/07 because the cash flow was negative on non-recourse debt and the investors didn't want this pool of CMBS properties bringing down the others.When we came out of it, which the company did, and continued to grow, it was like nothing had ever happened. 

Saw this today on social media generating quite a lot of buzz, and negative comments on landlords in general. 

The clock starts ticking, and you are running in a negative situation until the property is sold or rented.

In addition to being underwater, I wouldn't be surprised if the owners are also seeing negative cash flow.At $2,574/mo in just principal and interest ($508K @ 4.5% with 30-year amortization) and another $833/mo in property taxes, you're looking at a $3,407 monthly loan payment, of which at best $1,800 could be offset by the rental income.That means you'd be on the hook for $1,607/mo + repairs + maintenance + management + vacancy + insurance, and all for the privilege of living in a 3/1 unit with ZERO equity right next door to your tenants.Given all this, I don't see that making their problem yours is the best way to go here.I would take a hard pass on this one, personally! 

Issues with importing reports from old calculator - when going through the process of transferring all reports from the old calculator to the new, the numbers all transfer over in the negative. 

For example, if the current fair market value (according to the cook county assessor's website) is $200,000 and you buy it at $400,000 and you're only factoring the old tax bill (check on cook county treasurer website), your tax bill could double (or triple because cook county), taking it from an 8% to a negative 8% return very quickly.

From a gut feeling, it feels like there are a much higher amount of people just waiting for "the next crash" as if it's something that's guaranteed to happen.If this is true, then wouldn't that soften or even negate the effects of any downturn that may occur?

Especially for this project, it doesn't really matter if its cash flowing positive or negative $100.

You are cash flow negative just based on the mortgage/taxes/insurance.

Of course your primary mortgage would be forgiven ( if you owe money) and you might get partial relief from your rental property mortgage through a government fund ( I’m sure minimal paperwork).The bill would require full payment forgiveness, with no accumulation of debt for renters or homeowners and no negative impact on their credit rating or rental history.This bill should obviously be a nightmare for anyone owning rental property which is pretty much all BiggerPockets users. https://omar.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-ilhan-omar-introduces-bill-cancel-all-rent-and-mortgage-payments-during