Unfortunatley they do (the greater fool syndrom) and pay the price as seen in the last crash.

If I get no down payment, then the buyer may default---especially when the market crashes and the value plummets---and I really don't want to manage all these properties any longer.I might consider taking the down payment (and whatever else is taxable) and buy something that isn't quite so hard to manage---like land or a very high end home.  

He used to charge that during the market crash... when materials are a lot cheaper and no one was hiring.

I'm just bummed I wasn't around for the early nineties crash when banks WERE selling stuff for pennies on the dollar! 

This had been a big problem after the housing crash of 2008 and there were a lot of unscrupulous people taking advantage of Australian and other foreign nationals by selling properties for $65K or more that were only worth $40K and non U.S. buyers didn't know any better.

Their crash and burn will be very entertaining.

I would appreciate anyone pointing me towards these type of deals.The memory of the housing crash is still very fresh in my mind, and I want to be more conservative with at least half of my capital. 

If you are looking to expand your portfolio might be a good idea to take the money on the table while it's there, especially with all this talk of an impending market crash coming soon.

Crashes do happen.

If the stock market crashes this year or any year, how does that affect the housing market and price of real estate in general?