On a $2 million purchase, that’s $100,000 to $200,000, significantly less than if you purchased it with a loan.If the deal goes bad, you don’t have to exercise the option, so your downside risk is limited to your option money, time, and improvement costs. 4.

Exercise a little flexibility if the situation warrants.

It's a fun exercise to divide the replacement cost by your estimate of the items useful life to calc out how much you should theoretically have in your reserve fund each year.I'm a long ways from theoretical, but at least I know how far off I am.Best to you.

On the first Tuesday of each month, each county is allowed to hold a tax auction where you can purchase properties on the court house steps (not all of the 254 counties exercise their State given right). 

I currently exercise a buy and hold strategy, but have decided to do a couple of flips in between rentals to generate extra working capital.  

Also, it is kind of a fruitless exercise since returns vary by area.

When you're getting started you've got plenty of time to go visit people and its a pretty good exercise. 

I realize that Aaron is not the most common name ever, so perhaps it's a fruitless exercise...but I'm viewing this as an opportunity to create a "Pongo the Real Estate Investor" identity.

Going to clerks at the courthouse may be the softer landing and a good educational exercise on how to pull those leads.

If you exercised the option to Renovate using a 203(K) loan ORPurchase with a conventional loan, use your own money to renovate, and then refinance the money out after rehabbingHow did it turn out?