Many challenges can be avoided if you work with someone that can give you professional guidance in the market you choose.

If you are looking to fix and flip, just make sure you look for a 12 month term, non-dutch interest on the rehab funds (this means you do not pay interest on the rehab money until you use it), no prepayment penalty, and avoid any lenders that escrow your payments at closing.

It might help you avoid penalties if the IRS goes after you later.You can claim the labor expenses even without 1099s, but you will technically be in non-compliance.

You can pay a flat fee listing service a few hundred bucks to upload a listing (you'll have to answer calls, schedule showings, set up a lockbox, get a sign, vet potential buyers, avoid scammers and people trying to sell you stuff, negotiate and manage the sale yourself).

Hi BP, i’m curious if anyone has moved an electrical meter without upgrading service. i recently upgraded a meter and was forced to move it to a new location however now i can’t pass inspection because the service enters the building before the meter (only good route to get to new meter was indoors) i really want to avoid a new electrical drophas anyone found a way to enter the building before metering?

The good people here at BP have realized something that it seems you are trying to avoid or circumvent.

Sell: The home is stunning, with features like a 2-story wall of windows and a central, convenient location.

I think there are two maybe 3 ways to look at this in my mind.  1) you go into it and bring it all up to modern standards but using that old charm to basically take what is there bring it up to modern standards and rent it out essentially I'm thinking cocktail bar or something trendy like that.2) most banks are on really good centrally located real estate if this is true, then I'd consider it for the dirt, plan to scrape the lot and go vertical with whatever the highest and best use is.3) a kind of combo of the two, if the lot is in a good location and its doable, pull the vaults or other "character pieces" out of the building, scrape the lot, and build whatever is best suited for the site there, but incorporate those historical pieces into the final designs.Is the site near a major retail area? 

If that was the case I would let the in-process HELOC go, and shoot for a refi and HELOC at the same time next year to avoid duplicating fees.

I'm also in CA (up on the Central Coast).