I think that's one of the reasons that I didn't post very much on BIggerPockets, it's because I was just trying to keep my head above water.But now it's 2025 and things are stabilizing and I have a much more positive outlook on the future.Let me know if any of you had a couple of difficult years recently and how you were able to turn it around if you did.

It is not uncommon - main reason we see right now is over inflated original ARVs and now borrowers cannot sell and pay off the lender. 

Cleaning up our work area, I remembered what my old co-worker once told me on the construction site "There are 3 ways a job gets done: One way in our head, another way planned out, and how the job actually goes." 

I pull actual credit reports with all of the details.

@Felicia NituIn addition if you actually want to realize that value, you need to count another 5% for selling costs, and the taxes from the sale.Assuming a 20% capital gains tax, your total ROI on the above scenario would be about 12%, even with the numbers you were using. 

@Heather Luu first, make it more efficient by only worrying about deadbolts.There is actually very LITTLE additional protection a lock handset offers in addition to a deadbolt.On the properties we manage, we remove all keyed doorknobs and just use passage locks. 

I sometimes wonder if people just feel lazy dumping their money into an index fund in the stock market and actually using all that free time to go out and live life.

@Clark Harbaugh, Given the favorable tax rulings over the last few years (in particular revolving around trusts and their equaling a beneficial interest in the underlining propery) the IRS has actually been much more lenient (or at least silent) on these issues. 

However, you must have reasonable limits and hold to them.I give a great example in my book where a tenant abandoned a 2,000-square-foot home full of nice furniture, expensive jewelry, a brand-new $2,000 rifle still in the box, etc.

Rent is late in month 8, but she has a good reason and it's the first time.