In my case I had a year's worth of payments on everything I owned in cash and it wasn't enough to weather the storm.

Its all about the weather data and impact size. 

One thing that's interesting about the Delray Beach STR scene is that there are a TON of events in Delray along with the usual beach/warm weather tourists. 

By late April, mid May and certainly deep into June and July the coast will be incredibly active with a loose forecast for mortgage rates to decline notably by year's end which could extend market momentum into Fall and Spring.Let's see how this ages..  

It's substantially cheaper than the rest of the state, has great healthcare, warm weather year-round, great mountain views, several golf courses, low taxes, and a huge reservoir for boating/fishing.

Below is true about both North & South, except for the property taxes in SC that can be pretty high for investors: -Why: Nice weather, beaches & mountains, favorable migration patterns (often bringing higher equity and/or salaries from more expensive states), affordable (relative to pricey markets), low property taxes, and statewide legislation that favors vacation homeowners and property rights -The Next: I liken the Carolinas to the Idaho craze ~7 years ago; someone more familiar with the markets may disagree on the timeline, but you get the idea-Both LTR and STR opportunities; strong tourism and increased opportunities for career track jobs; also lots of retirees; favorable regulatory environment for STRs outside of cities that specifically ban them -As far as getting "burned", this can happen anywhere if you buy wrong, so I wouldn't say this is more or less likely to happen in NC or SC.

Because of my experience with long term rentals, I would encourage anyone to get into real estate, weather it's house hacking which I have done for the past 6 years, or buying a house and renting it out, perhaps duplexes,  of course multifamily I would say just do it, start anywhere you can.  

But that above-forecast rate is down 11 percent from January, and the National Association of Home Builders is saying apartment construction will decline even more than single-family starts because of the pandemic-induced downturn.Even at an elevated rate of construction, though, there’s likely to be a substantial shortfall, one that could be addressed, at least in part, by factory built modules that are transported to the construction site, where they are put together, one on top of—or next to—the other.

If local governments stop taking their land for buffer strips, limiting how much fertilizer they can use, stop threatening to sick the EPA on them for air quality violations during dry weather, and raising their property, sales,  and fuel taxes. 

If unexpected weather patterns emerge, if an engine has issues, or any other number of surprises, the pilots are the ones who are responsible for the flight.