Deals have hair on them: fact.

But pulling out your hair and breaking even isn't what ANY of us set out to do in real estate. 

@Jonathan R McLaughlin thanks I felt like it would be a waist of time to have her sign something that she would not sue down the line also. seems like just letting her walk with he prorated rent will hopfuly get her out of my hair. good riddance.

This is a very serious matter and if you don't take a stand like the lady running the hair salon in Dallas, you have no right to complain.

Cape Corals' long term plan is pretty exciting for existing residents and new transplants, I'm looking forward to being a part of the transformation.     

Some advice I could give you, read as much as you can about real estate and talk with investors with gray hair!

Think in terms of rehab and holding costs, vacancies, litigation, and the hair on your head.

We see it all the time in Oregon and Nevada with CA transplants .But if you want to go out of state I like one simple rule.. figure out the median house price of a given area and buy at that price point.Don't go into a market with a 150k median price and buy a 75k house thinking your going to get rich and retire :)  U want to buy in neighborhoods that are primarily owner occ ..

Not to split hairs...but the market dropped about 33%, not 40-50%.

And charge a non-refundable pet deposit upfront, it is easier for them to handle than saying you didn't get cat hair off the door frames, baseboards and I called in a cleaning crew and I am withholding money from your deposit.