Realistically though that is nearly impossible 

Carrying bad debt will make the lows impossible to survive.

The best strategy I think in Houston and what I've seen are rentals because flips are a little tight right now but not impossible there still out there, you just have to work a little harder to get them.

Impossible to (normally) predict which way interest rates will go, HOWEVER, right now the deck is stacked against you if you plan to wait.  

The third party, BOA, was impossible to deal with in that particular situation, and after months and months of back and forth, I finally walked away from it.  

Even if the cosigners are in the state, collecting a judgement is almost impossible unless they sell a property and you have a judgement in that county.

I feel it would be impossible to get approved without a floor plan.

Sometimes a tenant might move out of county, state or even country making service difficult or impossible even IF they notify a landlord they are breaching this lease. 

Many people think I'm crazy when I dont try to estimate my capex or repairs...I just look at the cash flow of my portfolio and know that some of that will get eaten up, but over a portfolio of even 5 or 10 properties it would be impossible to spend all my cashflow in a given year on capex/repairs.

Harsh statement, but if you're a realtor, finance professional, etc. it becomes impossible to know how to help you.