The fear of early payoff and loss is great. 

They have policies and procedures in place that will reduce losses.

All speculators who purchase pre construction condos/homes from developer to assign or flip are basically screwed.. only the lucky ones will make a profit or breakeven but most will take a loss or lose the whole deposit.

@Nate SanowCapital gains should not be a big issue since it's also my primary, besides I will also have some capital losses to cover the gains on the rental units.

A miscalculation of price or budget, or failure to secure a renter at the right time and price, can result in big monetary losses.

@Dilini SundaramI'm sad (but no longer surprised) that two days and a dozen comments later, not a single person brought up the issue that we should start with: are you even in a position to offset your income with RE losses? 

Over time, this compounds and leads to “loss-to-lease”.Rent premiums = the additional rent increases you’d be able to get with a significant transformation of the unit / property.

Not all investors want huge losses in year 1.  

Yes, you can elect up to a certain amount for sec 179 without creating a loss. 

My guess is that it's more windows to clean (on both sides), more to cover, dictates furniture and decoration placement, more to potentially require repair, and greater risk of entry from the elements, heating/cooling loss, etc