I don't recall exact details but he had been fighting a claim that happened at one of his properties, I don't recall exactly how it went but something that started from 1 evicted tenant, that he lost, in process of fighting other evicted tenants had been notified, and everyone jumped on the band wagon, he had horrible documentations and did a horrible job fighting it, so lost in grand manner.

Appreciation and Cashflow rarely go together, you have to pick your fight: If you're looking for Cash flow, I'd recommend the Midwest (Michigan and Ohio), if you're more into appreciation the Southeast (Florida, Georgia..)The best areas to invest in my opinion are Class B areas in the suburbs of the Midwest, ideally with an ARV of $100k to 250k and a monthly rent between 1200 and 2000.

How about if you lose more money each month with further economic deteriorations resulting in even lower revenues. if you can afford it and if there is a strong case that this slow down temporary in your market then do your best to fight through this.

The appraiser gave us the $25k for the remodel and the client settled at $75k instead of continuing to fight it.

Heck, he may decide to stay and fight it after all.

And a business plan is no way to fight an emotional mob, anyway -- why would I care about anyone else's business plan if I'm complaining about the lack of street parking on my block?

You can still get some good deals in OC/LA, just a lot more people fighting for deals in OC/LA with the competition even that much thicker. 

Don’t buy a dump you fight with everyday and in three years nothing has changed.  

Be real with self on unit conditions, I'd expect deferred maintenance and price that in for those willing to stay BUT you inviting problems by not accepting reality that people will fight tooth and nail to keep a ridiculous deal, if you let them, wouldn't you? 

They are weighing the cost of fighting the "quiet title" issue, what they are going to get at auction, the time frame of getting the property to a sale date and the cost of carrying the HOA fees, the property taxes and the homeowners insurance during that time frame.