Also, after what happened to you, nobody will blame you for deciding to stay at home when it comes to real estate investing.Finally, there are no guarantees in life and, in spite of all the research I do, the precautions I take and the control I exert, the possibility always exist that I could be screwed over, like in any venture. 

@Terry DunlapHey Terry,I'm certainly no expert, and others can chime in here, but I think you'll find most REI's invest for cash flow first with appreciation just being icing on the cake since it's never guaranteed.

Have a solid lease and if you are renting to students, get parents to guarantee lease

Keep in mind none of these strategies are guaranteed to produce positive income. 

It may be the last resort, but that still doesn’t guarantee they’ll be any more accommodating. 

Mutual funds are no guarantee of a successful return; 2020 is expected to be a bit of a slowdown due to global trade issues and anything "trade" has a negative impact on the stock market. 

If you make them mail it, I can guarantee you'll get an onslaught of "its in the mail, must've gotten lost" excuses. 

@Munir HassanIf the comps are not there they are not there , Forcing comps won't change the numbers and will guarantee you purchase a property with little to no ROI

The banks will continue to go back until there is eventually no account to debit.The PM's job is, among other things, to accept payment, not guarantee it.

But the Big Picture plan for Huntsville's next 50 years is ambitious, future-focused and pretty much guaranteed to boost values, rents, and demand: https://bigpicturehuntsville.com/What's more, Huntsville's internal and external (including, crucially, foreign) business investments are FANTASTIC.