Or do we go with the "safer" choice of house 2 which we like a lot (but dont love) and only needs a few grand in reno work?

. :-) Never offer more information than asked...the average banker will not be impressed with your grand goals.

It seems as though you don't have as much cash involved on that one & are garnering a grand return monthly. 

This flipper has now listed it for sale for over 200 grand.

If you like, you can throw another couple grand at the situation and sue her but throwing a couple grand for a very low chance of collecting $10k one day is a bad bet.

And you will want to have several thousand in the bank to deal with the inevitable rough spots.Wholesaling, that is, finding properties and then finding a buyer, can generate a few grand for each deal.

Simply put...if it was built in the 80's, you are most likely 'grand-fathered' and will NOT need to upgrade.

We are buying in Memphis and you can get a decent house there for 40-50 grand and so we are in contract on several.  

The way I see it, they're paying me thousands of dollars a year in rent, and a couple of hundred bucks in concessions is a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things, and a fraction of what 1 month of vacancy would be.

land use planner is what you need not an attorney.. they do this for a living and its usually a couple grand.