That is intentional and tied to fraud prevention, lease accuracy, and guaranteed rent eligibility.

Most landlords do this at every turnover anyway, since you never really know how many copies of a key exist.It’s a tough lesson, but going forward, a written lease and a deposit, even with friends, will save you a lot of stress or prevent you from this kind of headache.

(Sorry for the click bait title) So with Trump attempting to prevent Wall Street in investing in SFH what does that do for the market from the perspective of a private real estate investor? 

While social media and online marketing often make the strategy feel hyped or overly aggressive, in practice it is a legitimate and highly effective tool when implemented correctly.

I’m coming to Syracuse to set up a business that will implement this strategy. 

It really helps prevent the client that every now and then will misunderstand what you said on a call or not remember when you told them about important information. 

You can't take title to your replacement property until your old property is sold, but nothing prevents you from getting it under contract.

Think of it like this: if a $2,500 cage prevents a $6,000 compressor replacement or repeated theft, it’s not optional.The simple framework I’d use (so you don’t get wrecked)If you’re chasing $50k–$90k houses, expect higher risk + higher management intensity.If you buy in the $130k–$200k range (often 3/2 brick ranch territory), you usually get a better balance: still cash flow potential, fewer headaches, better tenants, better resale.If you’re new to Columbus, do this before buying anythingSpend one day driving neighborhoods (or do a video drive with a local PM/agent)Underwrite with real numbers:insurance quote in handvacancy (at least 5–8%)repairs/CapEx reservesproperty management (even if you self-manage)Avoid buying your first deal sight unseen.If you want, I can share a quick “starter buy box” by zip code and property type (cash flow vs stability), but the big takeaway is: Columbus can work, just don’t buy the cheapest thing on the map and expect it to behave.

We will need a huge change in our industry to prevent this.

All preventable once communication has lanes.The hardest part todayTraining tenants on how to communicate, not just responding faster.