When things turn against you it seems they really turn against you.  We had moved to Los Angeles from Chicago about 5 years ago now.  We got there at exactly the right and wrong times.   When I think about the fact that we are now listed as an official Los Angeles Bankruptcy, I just can't believe it.  Neither can Michelle.  We are right back to where we were 5 years ago when we came out here.  In fact, we are worse.  We are facing a total loss of everything, except our 401k savings.  Disaster started to happen when Michelle lost her job, then we couldn't rent a house, then another, and then another.  We couldn't sell them, either.  Many of the people who could have purchased those homes couldn't get the easy loans anymore.  We lowered the rental prices, made them all rent to own, and we still had three empty homes.  That left only one home rented and we had five other ones that we were trying to flip.  It seemed like overnight things had just dried up, like turning off the shower suddenly.  We had come out here with no idea of getting into real estate, but soon ended up with eight homes that we were either renting or rehabbing slightly to flip.