Tenants can destroy a property , you need reserves for that . in my opinion , if an investor cant handle 3 or 4 months with lack of rent , they arent an investor , they are a gambler . 

But nothing destroys values when banks stop lending for a few years. 

For instance...with three kids under 7 I MUST have a van, with three kids under 7 the van WILL be destroyed in 3 years.

It can destroy the health care system's ability to function.

One thing I would suggest is that this whole thing of a tenant "destroying" a home is not really as frequent as you would think.I've been doing this for about 10 years now and I currently have 66 homes.

Doesn't walking away from an investment property destroy one's credit just like jingle-mailing your primary residence?

I vote that no one else should be allowed to post on this thread because Julie just destroyed it.

Low income tenants destroying dishwashers is not a rare event.

If your Realtor is telling you $500/mo in pure profit then the what are they basing this on.Cleveland Water and NEORD will probably be about $125-150 per sideNo lawn maintenance this time of year, but in the summer you will have thatIn F neighborhoods turnover will destroy your profits as well as tenants just being hard on the property in general. 

My realtor mentioned not wanting to put nice stuff in because it will inevitably get destroyed and you want to change everything out every 3 years.