Some growing pains and I didn't like being on-call/on-internet 24/7 for things that pop up while scaling.

I kind of just followed his guidance but what a pain in the rear. 

Here are some of my pain points:Given a particular property, what would be the typical expenses for this building?

What a royal pain!

If you have the bandwidth - patience - hustle and hunger to search for deals and can spend many hours managing it locally - then definitely you can find better cash flowing deals - fix and flip and many other options - but ultimately you need to decide on how much effort you are willing to put into it and the kind of tenant profile you want to deal with.

Also think letting tenants pain is a bad idea.

I co-own a property management company here in Huntsville and have a few of my own properties, we have gotten a few out of state clients that came to us with turnkey properties where something in their deal was a bad enough pain point that led them to switching over to us.

You should make a big Pro/Con chart for renting an apartment vs buying a house.Renting an apartment:Pros: Little to no maintenance on your end, save a bunch on not paying property taxesCons: Not building equity (aka you don't own anything), proximity to neighborsBuying a housePros: mortgage interest deduction, after X years you own something that you can sellCons: Maintenance, taxes, insuranceBuying a property like a duplex and living in one side and renting out the other:Pros: Your tenants help pay for your mortgage and other expenses, you get to learn how to be a good landlordCons: You live close to your roomates albeit seperate units (this could be a pain in the butt if you have crappy tenants)Hope this helps!

You will have to deal with the insurance company , that alone is a pain .

@Ryan MacDonald short sale ends the pain for everyone early and avoids a foreclosure. being so close to auction, there is probably less incentive for the bank to agree to a short sale.that being said, with a short sale, negotiations start at the appraisal. hire your own appraiser and you can have your answer in a day for $350 wether you have a chance at a good price on this property or not.homeowner may be able to postpone by submitting a filing in court. make some phone calls