No...there are labor costs in the tearoff (most physically demanding part of the job) and the upfront costs of the ordered shingles that are delivered on-site at your property in addition to dumpster rental that is charged at a higher rate because the weight of shingles only allow 1/2 a dumpster to be filled and the costs of laying down the tar paper immediately after the tearoff is complete as you can not just leave sheathing exposed to the elements while you wait for the next check.With 1/3 upfront, the truth is the contractor is out of pocket by day 2.

Well, you would have already collected a deposit from him (we get 2 grand) so a) you are already up a grand and he loses his deposit b) delay the closing (if your buyer is laying in the street somewhere half dead that won't be a problem)c) Sell it to someone else because you would have normally had a back-up buyer ready)d) Walk away from it and you still made $1K profit

Just wait til the government controls everything.Mike

Do I wait until the closing?

Have a team Don't wait until you have a deal brewing to find the players.

I can not wait for the next one.

Wait a minute, I executed that plan a few months ago.

Wait until all this "bailout" spending really starts to snowball.

Wait till your buyer sees the property FOR SALE on the MLS for less. :)

Speculating on future appreciation is a valid model, provided of course that you can support the negative cash flow while waiting for the appreciation.Mike