the proverbial ink isnt dry on my last acquisition---which was my first ever---but i am willing to take a gamble but the significant other is having second thoughts.thanksvijay

The bank doesn't care whether you lend the money to a LLC or whether you go to the casino and gamble it away - they do care about getting paid though.

In my opinion the real estate remain still a good investment/business because has the "SLOW" characteristic that means that do not react directly proportionally with the stock market and no matter is going to happen the people needs a roof...Anyway, about the Houston market, I was just reading from the Houston Business Journal that the top 10 jobs are based on medical and/or import/export industries, no one was in the oil & gas area.Another KPI is that Houston have still a shortage of houses respect to the request.However, if you driving around downtown/uptown you can see a lot of new buildings/condo/town etc... that are ready to open...In conclusion, I think there are a lot of opportunities in the Clutch city...

I don't make my properties perfect and let tenants know that maintenance is an ongoing thing' and that older properties have certain characteristics and weaknesses that newer properties don't have.

Or would I just be gambling?

May be a bit of a gamble, and may or may not be worth it.

You are gambling on XYZ to happen to get your return. 

The other thing that the Agent doesn’t tell you is what your chance of getting the property is - This is like Gambling - it’s like rolling the dice that you will get the home you are applying for.

They are gambling that FHA will never check in that first year or they have the ability to refi out of it if they do. 

The old adage on BP is don't buy for appreciation that's not investing but gambling, however if you invest get good cash flow and get good appreciation its a home run.