While I got my teeth kicked in a few times in the early going, that decision forced me to be very keen on how to accurately screen for good and bad tenants. 

Galvanized inside the house rarely actually leaks or breaks, by the way - the bigger problem is the pipe corrodes so bad internally that you get ridiculously low flow & water pressure from the line, and bits of corrosion break loose and clog internal water passages in appliances, get caught in valve seats, etc. 

BUT, its not even in a bad part of town... they just dont keep up with it. 

Most believe it is a bad idea...fewer will agree to do it.

I find there's way too much aspirational / motivational content in the REI community and not enough concrete discussion of lessons learned, good and bad examples, etc. 

fixing that credit problem is #1 if someone has no income, no cash, no experience, and bad credit, they will have to prove to the world they can fix these problems first.

I have had good experiences and bad experiences, sometimes with the same guy. 

I don't think a hard money loan is a bad idea..if the deal makes sense.

Either way, if you are getting more experience that will help you grow, a portion of a good deal is better than all of a bad deal.

Trulia is pretty bad at pulling up 6 units..