There is a LOT of money chasing real estate these days. If the deal is really great, there will typically be a lot of money chasing it. In Memphis, a handful of newbies bought up a lot of fixer-uppers to rent low income. Well, the rental market is tight, and no one wants to live in a crackerbox, when you can get into a nicer place for equal money. Now, the landlords are stuck with properties with little resale potential, no rent, sizeable front-end expenses, and payments on credit lines. That hurts.
Tenants from Hades are rare, but they are NO myth. A b~tchin' awesome lease agreement won't always protect you from a Tenant from Hades. What if your tenant pays on time, but demands to be coddled and cooed over every little issue? It costs you time, money, and sometimes a few bad nights' sleep. However, in my experience 9 out of 10 tenants are just great. The 1 out of 10 are just the cost of doing business.
In the end, for the person who's patient and can stick through the bad times, real estate can and will remain a spectacular investment. The problems occur when a landlord gets fed up early and sells out. Don't be one of those guys.
Here's a good forum for landlords,
http://bbs.mrlandlord.com/qanda/index.mgi
Those guys have been there, done it, smoked it, etc.
good luck
jürgen