Now is the time to begin insulating yourself against bad times and down turns. 

If you are looking to scale quickly - even tho this is your first deal - having 80% in the deal is never a bad thing - have your guidelines but sometimes you can’t always get it exactly where you want.

Bad condition, moldering walls, built in 1860.

I carry just enough insurance to get the bank out of the way if something really bad happens. 

It's older so needs constant work and problems.The 200k property instead of the bad parts of Atlanta the quality areas you spend more but tend to get better rent growth over time and equity growth.

This was in the mid 2000's.Past experience was over construction, bad economy and the class A started giving away the farm to avoid losing the farm and all property rents dropped significantly. 

James:Yes, I'm sure area and rents will figure into the equation as well ... and bad spots in Detroit may be a little tougher than our bad spots.   

However, a part of the bathroom was saved, and was added to the rebuilt home (around 93').The owner has a two RV lots (in OK shape) and a MH in the back in bad shape. 

I was definitely hoping to find lenders that don't really require a credit check since I'm in the middle of repairing mine.There are lenders out there who would loan to you without a credit check, or even bad credit. 

Dave Ramsay is a brilliant guy, but contrary to Dave's way of thinking, all debt is not bad.