I did this for a friend once too, for a year and a half. My friend had been running backpackers, and lost the business (and their place to stay) fast and unexpectedly when the building it was in was sold to a hostile landlord. It paid off. He's back on his feet.

I see people like investments; in cases like this, I didn't want to profit in the classic sense, but I did want to see my friend succeed, and I knew my friend had it in him. All I needed to do was provide a roof over his head for a bit.

I'm sorry to hear you had a negative experience here. There are success stories out there though. In the end, its about taking the right risks for the right people.