Plus you need to see the comps from the MLS,if any from a good real estate agent to determine what the property is worth now and after you make repairs and improvements.Equity is determined by the amount of money owed to the bank and what another person is willing to pay for it today in " As Is" condition.Get a good contractor to walk the property with you to determined the current physical condition and what it would take to repair and decorate it to modern standards and bring it to its full After Repair Value.

I wanted modern colors.  

So, I see an opportunity for a SAAS application so that investors can keep all their estimates and management tools in one place, accessible from anywhere on their phone, tablet, laptop, or otherwise..Another idea is a listing site specifically for deals (a place where wholesalers and others can list).

thanks everyone for the quick replies, now that I am on my laptop i can open some of the links that wouldn't load on my phone

Could I go to the coffee shop, use my laptop there to do work, or alternatively pick up a newspaper there, every morning, and call that my first business activity?

It's not frugal or smart), I enjoy all the modern amenities in life (I eat out a couple times a month using Groupon or other deals), I have a newer Ford Focus in mind condition (yes we are a 1 car family!)

I am about to replace a 1950 gravity gas heater with a modern unit, add c/a and do a little basement duct work to a unit all for $5,800.Around here (Delaware County, PA - near Phila), a "3Br, 1Ba, unfinished basement and no c/a" is the "base unit" for the row homes I buy. 

The fact they did not recognize opportunities locally, the best in modern history, does make some wonder how could they be able to recognize great opportunities remotely?

About an hour ago i got kicked out of my house for reasons i would not like to get into, the only things i grabbed was some clothes my laptop and skateboard.

We look for older properties in good locations which are nose against obsolescence and determine if we can modernize and rejuvenate them.