It's a turnkey rental, but it's electric baseboard heat which is a huge turn-off to renters.  

There are times when the owner in foreclosure will cause problems to the house he is about to be evicted from;  cement in the toilet, crossing electrical,wires, blocking the waste vent pipe...etc. discovering these problem and making an offer to the lender with pictures and a contractors inspection report will help the investor acquire the REO.Charles

I  am somewhat new to the investing side of real estate but have been an electrical contractor for 17 years.  

I'm looking at a rental property that has a garage conversion that has left the electrical panel in the newly created bedroom.  

Better question is - why are you paying electric?!?!

Some things I've thought up so far:county zoningcounty building permit processeasementswater table (there's no water/sewer/electric)But really, short of talking to the listing agent who I imagine is primarily motivated by sealing the deal, I'm not sure what sort of due diligence I should engage in.

If you know how to do the work, you might be able to save yourself half price on roofs, plumbing, electrical, etc... with owner-builder permits.

For the electrical we had to call PG&E to come out an unlock the breaker box so we could change a main breaker just to run our inspection on the houses electricity.

. @ 1095Here are my numbers: Purchase price: 117,000Down payment: 31,036Insurance :500Repairs:6631Inspection: 250Carrying cost:Gas/electric: 679.87Water:57.19Garbage: 216.23Mortgage payments(-710 @ 2 months and 900 @ 3.5 months): 2170Total cash in: 41,541. 

I primarily do Electrical work but i have experience in many things.