I started before the 2008 crash, knocking on doors and buying properties in per-foreclosure, did the fix 7 Flip until the crash, then shifted to buy and holds.

I actually left a high paying job and took a big pay cut knowing that the country's biggest DOD Contractors moving from expensive states to find refuge in the cheap and state tax free state of Florida was going to impact the economy in a way that will reduce the impact of a recession or market crash (Not too many places or impacted as hard as Florida and Brevard as a whole). 

Are you trying to save cash for the impending housing crash?

Oil boom brought tons of business and developers but the crash left a lot of newly developed neighborhoods without buyers.

Most probably would have been pretty happy to simply not lose money when the market crashed. 

I'd shy away from those as there's a lot of unknown variables that can easily cause your first deal to crash and burn.If you're talking about online auctions, like Auction.com or Hubzu, you might be able to preview the property or have other financing options available. 

"Economic crash" spikes hard in 2015.

We are not going to see a 2008 crash.

Now you see them back out building big subdivisions again, but it STILL isn't quite like it was before the crash.  

There were fears that Las Vegas housing prices would crash and foreclosure waves would return.In my 2023 Outlook, I stated:In the near term, interest rates will be the key factor.If interest rates rise significantly, buyers will be choked off, and prices will fall slightly.If interest rates remain relatively stable, I believe prices will remain relatively static.If interest rates fall even slightly, the demand for homes will surge, and prices and rents will rise.As it turns out, mortgage rates rose sharply from about 6.15% in Jan 2023 to 7.79% in Oct before coming down to 6.65% at the end of the year (source: Freddie Mac).