I was scammed awhile back, about two years ago, and I've been paying for it ever since. My husband and I were finally on our feet financially and we were ready to start preparing for the future. We looked towards investing. It's really a long story that still hasn't ended. Just when we think we may have gotten out from under our burdens we realize that we're still just as stuck as before. We bought a few fixer-upper rental properties in a city a few hundred miles away from where we live. A friend of mine did the same as did a close family member. We all ended up losing thousands of dollars. Up until today (well, tomorrow when we officially close), we had these properties that were sucking the life out of us (me and my husband, that is). We had renters from hell every single time. We ended up spending over a thousand dollars to get the various renters out. The eviction process took longer than I would have liked. These people were living in MY house for free for months and months and they acted like we should feel sorry for them while they jepordize MY family's food. They made me so angry. And I was just as angry at the con artist who sold us the properties "under value" when really he had the appraisers and title company in pocket. (The title company has since been shut down.) Anyway, the past six months have been the hardest financially. We were forced to either borrow more money or foreclose on the properties and lose everything we had put into them. Timing so had it that my mother was able to help us. Great. Now I owe HER thousands of dollars for all the months the properties were vacant but the mortgages had to be paid. Today should be a joyous day since we're finally getting rid of the last property but it's not because I have to contemplate selling MY OWN house to get out of the quagmire I've found myself in. There are too many dynamics for me to explain here, but I'm sure you can understand that this is not an easy decision to make. I'm frustrated, I'm angry, and to top it off I'm broke. God is still good because my family is healthy, and we still have it better than lots of other people who don't even have a house to sell in the first place. Still, while I feel sorry for them I'm just as sorry for myself. We have learned a lot in the process, so if you're considering investing in rental property go ahead and ask me. I'll tell you everything we did wrong so you don't do the same. There really are people out there who don't care about using you to boost themselves up. Case in point, said con artist now lives in an exclusive gated community at the expense of me, my family, and my friends. CAVEAT EMPTOR - BUYER BEWARE!