Flipping an REO

[Hal Cranmer]

I hope this fits into the right forum area. I have just had an REO offer accepted on a duplex in Minneapolis for $104K. It last sold for $261K in 2004 and the tax value is $250k. It needs about $15K in work and the comps look like I could sell it for around $180k. I am trying to set it up as a 3BR unit upstairs and 2BR downstairs, which I could rent out for a total of about $2100 per month.

So here is my question. I would like to flip this and pay off some loans I have for downpayments on other duplexes in the area that I am renting out. I want to make it really easy for another investor to come in and buy it fully rented, then collect money. So I thought I would rent it out and then put it up for sale. How will the tenants take to putting a 'For Sale' sign in the front yard right after they move in? I've never sold anything that had tenants in it. I would think it would be good to be upfront with the tenants at the time of rental and tell them the lease must be enforced for the full term. Any ideas?

Also, any tips on marketing this place for sale would be much appreciated. Obviously investors would probably be much more interested than homeowners, but someone might want to live on one floor and rent out the other? Just curious if there are ideas out there besides the MLS? I was going to advertise it at my local REIA too, but would appreciate any assistance about marketing it on the web, youtube, newspaper etc. Thanks.