It’s definitely a balancing act — owners want to protect their investment, but holding too tightly to outdated assumptions (like 2021 rent levels or tenant demand) can end up costing more in the long run.I’ve found the best approach is setting clear expectations upfront with a manager: define thresholds where the manager can act without approval (like minor repairs or small rent adjustments) and bigger decisions that require owner sign-off.

This was one of the very first houses I approached after BP Con 2018.

And don't buy in a challenging area, but in a desirable suburb.

See the chart from Fair Isaac Company (FICO) below: FICO Score Pct of Population Default Probability 800 or more 13.00% 1.00% 750-799 27.00% 1.00% 700-749 18.00% 4.40% 650-699 15.00% 8.90% 600-649 12.00% 15.80% 550-599 8.00% 22.50% 500-549 5.00% 28.40% Less than 499 2.00% 41.00% Source: Fair Isaac CompanyAccording to this chart, investors should use corresponding vacancy + tenant-nonperformance factors of approximately 5% for Class A rentals, 10% for Class B and 20% for Class C.To address Class C payment challenges, many industry "experts" are now selling programs to newbie investors about how Section 8 tenants are the cure.

And approach it with different parameters moving forward.

This was one of the very first houses I approached after BP Con 2018.

Hey BP community,I’ve been working on scaling a small real estate portfolio with a couple of partners. As we move from simple buy-and-holds into more BRRRR-type deals, taxes and structuring are starting to feel more c...

The key is to combine structured learning with  connections, and most people in the industry are open to mentoring if you approach them thoughtfully. 

Share stories about your successes AND challenges.

Investors, curious to hear: what’s the toughest budget overrun you’ve dealt with mid-project, and how did you handle it?
We had a client project where the GC submitted a change order for $18,000 tied to “unforeseen” ...