You ever heard things like “only buy class A or class B rental property”?  Or what about… “stay away from Class C properties” or “never go into a war zone!” or “Section 8 tenants are a problem waiting to happen”?  Every one of these… a generalization.  But are they facts… or just marketing hype?  I’m Bryan Ellis.  As always, I’ll help you separate propaganda from truth RIGHT NOW in episode #143.-----Greetings, SDI Nation!  You people are the ABSOLUTE BEST and I’m so grateful for you!  Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you!Folks, generalizations in real estate are almost never true.May I give you an example?  Of course I can, it’s my show!  So here goes:This, by the way, is a true story.  Totally true, no detail is embellished.This past Friday, I had a meeting with a guy who was soliciting me for access to YOU, my dear friends.  You people are a very hot commodity!Anyway, the man I was sitting with has done many hundreds of real estate deals.  He’s basically a high-volume rehabber and has built a good-sized portfolio of rental properties as well.  And what he told me was this:  “Nobody ever makes money from those Class C properties.  They’re trouble waiting to happen.”  The fact is this:  He told me that because his business is based around class B properties.  So, of course, anything that’s not class B doesn’t make sense to him.And you know… this guy is credible.  Like I’ve said, he’s done hundreds of rehabs and has a rental portfolio that’s much larger than most people will ever have.  And if I was anybody else, I’d probably just take that advice to heart and go with it for reasons I’ll tell you in just a moment.But that’s not the whole story.  The rest of the story is that this past Monday – 4 days before the meeting I just described to you – I had a meeting with another guy.  This guys is also a high-volume rehabber who has done a huge number of deals – over 1,000 in his case – and who has amassed an impressive portfolio of rentals.He told me something interesting… without any prompting from me about the “classes” of properties, he said this:  “You know, I love these class C houses.  The cash flow is so much higher, and the tenants stay so much longer.  I wouldn’t do anything else.”So what we have is ANOTHER investor with overwhelming credentials who wholly endorses class C properties and wants nothing to do with anything else.So who’s right?We’ll come back to that.  But first, let’s get clear about what these categories mean.  Generally speaking, properties fit into one of four categories:  Class A-C and then War Zones.Class A is the part of town you’d be happy to live.  Nice, newer properties.  Very safe.  High credit quality.  High income.  But also generally speaking, high price and relatively low cash flow, usually in the mid single digits.  This is the domain of middle and upper-middle class folks.Class B is a lot like Class A, only older.  These properties may have a bit of deferred maintenance and certainly don’t have all of the latest amenities.  This is where the lower-middle class tier lives.  These properties are a bit less expensive than Class A’s, and usually generate a cash return of somewhere in the mid to high single digits.Class C is the older property that might need a fair amount of work to be habitable.  These areas are generally safe to be in, but you certainly would lock your doors at night driving through.  In these areas, the vast majority of the houses are livable but old, but there are a few houses that are abandoned and in a wholly uninhabitable state of repair.  This is where the lowest income-earners and some folks on government assistance live.  These properties are, relative to Class A, very inexpensive and the cash return on investment is pretty much always in the double digits.And then there are the war zones.  These are the areas where it’s literally not safe to visit due to crime.  Most people don’t want to be here during the night or day.  Property i