Beyond the obvious: "Buy low, sell high", what may be less obvious is this: your money on a transaction is made when you buy.
It is realized when you sell.
You only have one opportunity to buy at the right price.
And paying too much for a property is a large part of the reason so many people are in trouble today! Buying right allows you options in case things don't go as planned or as scheduled.
For example, you buy a property to rehab and flip and you run into a major zoning snag that delays the project 6 months to a year.
Or you may have any one of a million unexpected cost over-runs.
You discover that if you make your anticipated improvements, you will end up spending more than you can reasonably expect to get back.
If you have bought the property right, you may still be able to salvage the investment.
Here are some options you can explore:

1. You can just "flip it" without doing the anticipated improvements - in effect, selling the problem to someone else to solve - who may have deeper pockets or more experience.
   
2. Go forward with the improvements but rather than sell, you rent the property - creating cash flow until the market "catches up" to your improvements.
   
3. Structure a "rent with option to buy" scenario for a "wannabe" homeowner that can afford the monthly payments but doesn't have a down payment saved.
   Ideal candidates for this type of scenario are professionals recently graduated from college with large student loans - doctors and lawyers come immediately to mind.
   
4. Depending on your loan situation, perhaps you can sell the property by taking back paper - i.
   e.
   owner financing.
   This can be an attractive option for the professional we mentioned above or for someone that has damaged credit that can't otherwise get financing.
   You will, of course, want to be cautious about transacting with such a person.
   However, not everyone with damaged credit is a deadbeat.
   Remember: Life is what happens when you make other plans - and sometimes people just get caught in a bad situation.
   

You may not make as much as you had hoped, but at least you won't lose money.
The more creative and flexible you can be, the better your chances of salvaging your investment.
As already said, life is what happens when you make other plans - so having 2-3 different exit strategies is always prudent.