Since I was 17 I wanted to learn about investing in real estate but the fear of losing money took control of me.

@Steven Pauleverytime I do one I have several exit strategies plan to sit on for a good amount of time, and am ok if I lose my entire investment.

Small real estate investing in the Puget Sound region is red hot, with hundreds of local players and there are scores of established investors who can simply write a check for the full purchase price, if they like the deal.

If it's an antique shop for instance and the tenant has 5 million then if it loses money no big deal they pay the rent ( at least they should be able to ).

EVERYONE said I would lose my ***.  

Aka kinda play it safe in a way where there won't be a huge lose if there is but won't be massive profits either.

(I'm sure someone will chime in with "you're asking for your home to be ruined" but I lived with 5 SDSU football players and not a thing went south).5) If students DID cause damage, security deposit will cover just about everything. 6) Usually, Financial aid or parents pay for rent, which means you don't have to be worried about not getting your monthly paycheck ;). 7) Lastly, I plan to fix it up in those 2-3 years that will attract the slightly more responsible tenant. 

I'm at a loss but I don't want to lose money if I can do something with this.

Get an exact date that your tenant plans on vacating, start looking for another tenant now, so that you don't lose any rent. 

The property is about to lose its backyard by eminent domain13.