From everything I read, it seems that we're at this completely artificial level.

I've offered to mow their lawns in exchange for letting me place a sign.

Any holes/dents in sheetrock, particularly where doorknobs hit after the tenants have broken off the door stops.Excessive dirt at the corners of walls where people put their hands in order to turn corners.Dirt and grease on stove and oven.Dirt, grease and scum on tub and shower tile.Built up crud, hard water in toiletsUnkept lawn and shrubsCuts and tears in any linoleum or carpet.Stains in carpet.Smoke stains on ceilingsGrease on range hood.Dirty windows.CobwebsDirty baseboardsCrap left in garage.Unauthorized repainting of walls.These were always the big ones, and hardest for them to dispute, for me.all cash

When I am driving around, I also like to make note of the addresses of "Homes in Distress" - weedy lawn, paint peeling, obvious neglet; "Signs Down" - the yard-arm is still up but the realtor sign is gone - maybe an expired listing;and of course if there are any FSBOs call them.Calling the We Buy Houses signs, will just get you other investors looking for sellers, but you can add them to your buyers list.

Before that I came very close to purchasing a dry cleaning franchise, a carpet cleaning franchise and a lawn care franchise.

We have a lawn now, and it has to be watered.

Property Cost $200,000.00 Repairs Needed $50,000.00 Number Of Units 10 AVG Rent Per Unit $475.00 Gross Schedule Income $4,750.00 Vacancy Allowance 10% $475.00 Gross Operating Income $4,275.00 Less Operating Expenses Accounting $25.00 0.58% Advertising 0.00% Insurance $125.00 2.92% Lawn / Snow $- 0.00% Repairs $85.50 2.00% **Since i guess high for repairs, i lowered this down to 2% Monthly Taxes $458.33 10.72% *** Renter pays Utilities Electric $- 0.00% Gas $- 0.00% Fuel Oil $- 0.00% Water / waste $- 0.00% Total Operating Expense $693.83 16.23% Net Operating Income $- 0.00% Property Cost With Repairs $250,000.00 25% Down $62,500.00 Additional Cash Down $- Remaining Balance $187,500.00 Gross Operating Income $4,275.00 Monthly Mortgage $1,875.00 Total Operating Expense $693.83 Monthly Profit $1,706.17 36% profit My formula always shoots higher on the cost to protect me.

Our hoa and property management company work together to manage all the lawn care needs.Last summer, one of my next door neighbors who was 8 years old was running on what they claim was my yard area and stepped into a hole and messed up her shin pretty badly.

I'm looking to bring someone on part time to help with some of the rehab work and general property maintenance (mowing lawns, shoveling sidewalks, vacuuming common areas, etc).

What's worse is that many all too many people now believe that the real estate bust was the result of an unbridled free market run amok when in fact it was the result of the inherent moral hazard of simultaneously encouraging the "ownership society" through a Federal Reserve policy of artificially low interest rates and government bailouts, quasi-government corporations backing loans, and other tinkering to prop up an otherwise slumping market.