. :) And really, it was a humane meeting.

Actually, I was predicating this on 30% ROI, which is very achievable and is conservative on leveraged buy and hold investments in this area of the country.And this doesn't even consider the hit taken down the road when you pay taxes on at least some portion of your retirement accounts at ordinary income tax rates (accept for a Roth, but I don't think that is what is being contemplated here).I agree that this would be more appropriate for those under 55.However, if you believe tax rates will be materially higher in the future (most sentient humans think this will be true), paying the taxes now at lower rates will offset at least some of the penalty.

I guess I'm just trying to be a human while also trying to run a business. 

Many funds are getting too large for human nature and lack of financial oversight like SOX to stay corrupt-free.

Second, Doomsday posters need to refer to history and see how these great cities have come back from devastating setbacks that include natural disasters like major earthquakes or human oriented terrorist attacks.

Trying to break other people down to benefit yourself or showcase your ability is a losing proposition in my book and overall horrible quality as a human being. 

In these cases, this is my preferred method.Pros- Great option for tenants without email or who are not tech-savvy- Requires no front end set up from your end as the landlord/property manager- Typically results in more on-time payments since it takes the human error out of bill paying- No fees for the tenant or landlord/property managerCons- Not all financial institutions offer this - Does not allow you to configure late payments, fees, updated rent etc.- Requires slightly more time on the bookkeeping side to ensure the deposit hit your account and sometimes it difficult to tell at first who the deposit is for- Tenant at any time can stop the direct deposit from their end

I think that this new investor should: - Save as much as humanly possible to have more and more cash to potentially put in the deal with each passing month. - Obsess over real estate - analyze dozens or hundreds of deals, read books, listen to podcasts, post in this forum, etc.

Sometimes humanizing a landlord really helps. 

Now you have permanently damaged the relationship and may have opened the door to other liability i. e. self-help evictions, harassment, retaliation, etc..You screened these folks, they passed the test, you rented to them - they are human - and we are all worried about bring covid into our homes.