"When I remember how many of my private schemes have miscarried; how speculations have failed, agents proved dishonest, marriage been a disappointment; how I did but pauperize the relative I sought to help; how my carefully governed son has turned out worse than most children; how the thing I desperately strove against as a misfortune did me immense good; how while the objects I ardently persued brought me little happiness when gained; most of my pleasures have come from unexpected sources; when I recall these and hosts of like facts, I am struck with the incompetence of my intellect to prescribe for society" ---Herbert Spencer

Vacancies are a fact of life, and if you assume you will have a tenant in place every month, you will fail.

If you really need to get an address for a beneficiary, then you can fall back on a skip trace if simple internet and phone book searches fail to get you that address.

In GA we have many failed banks but you do not in Texas.I just checked and their were only 8 properties showing for Texas.You would do better to call local banks directly in your state for defaulted properties on their books.Get a signed NDNC from your buyer to protect yourself legally.Many of the nice properties the banks would rather do a workout with the owners than take a big haircut today.So I get the calls everyday too from groups chasing a pipe dream for very little inventory.

It is good to have a long-term goal of building a business, but it needs to be executed with care so that they don't become a statistic in that arena too...one of the businesses that fails because it is under capitalized.

Sam,Using Timbercret vinyl siding here,,its .046 thick,,,wish I could find some .050 (mill)thick.But the alberts site says done same way for hardi plank or other cement board productsSo many brand new houses are improperly flashed there windows and walls will fail in 10-15 years(and thats not very long).

Then another bank buys the assets of the failed bank with the FDIC guarantee.

If you own property and the tenant sends you written notification of a faulty electrical wire in the home and you fail to fix it, your insurance and your entity protection are useless because you were negligent.Operate without being negligent, have all workers sign a document that states they have insurance (list their policy number) and hold you harmless agreement.

I am an extremely competitive person and think that people should succeed or fail based on their efforts alone and not on the backs of their family.

Investors are easy targets and scapegoats for failed lending policy perpetuated by the government!