I think this mental shift could be helpful to someone.

A bad deal will dry you up slowly financially and mentally.

The important thing is ensuring you are capable (financially and mentally) of making the decision to alter the strategy amid changing conditions.Devise something that suits your personal investment objectives, risk profile, and lifestyle and along the timeframe that you need.

so first .. we have this shooting in AZ which has nothing to do with political rhetoric, suddenly the entire media is telling everyone to tone it down, etc. etc. it's all the place over - lets use softer language , blah , blah blah.. .. and now i come to my favorite real estate web site and find that the mentality has permeated ever deeper.

Of course it doesn't work that way, but there is no accounting for tenant mentality and it just makes it clearer for them if I make the security deposit a little less or a little more than the rent. 

It sounds like the owner mentally shut down after a traumatic life experience and walked away without considering the options he had, and may still have.

I'm new to real estate investing and I've "flipped that mental switch" to go after it.

My lease states this: (still working on the correct legal wording) Emotional Support Animals (ESA):Tenant will provide a copy of letter from a licensed mental health professional (therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist -NOT the family doctor) on his/her letterhead that states the person is under his/her care, is emotionally or psychiatrically disabled, and prescribes for the person an emotional support animal.

It is understood that a person who has avoided "consumer" debt for much of their life could have a hard time making the mental shift to take on debt as a tool.

It's a niche' for me because most realtors have a Retail/Put a sign in the yard and hope for the best mentality.