The contract's fine print clearly states "Any alteration or deviation from above specifications involving extra costs will be executed only upon written orders and will become an extra charge over and above estimate.”I think is shady to say it took nearly double as much fill.

JD Mathieu, welcome aboard :) let me know if you want a copy of our deal evaluator spreadsheet - it's pretty straightforward, and you can alter it to suit your particular conditions.Best of luck, and you're absolutely right - take the time to learn more about the market before jumping in - don't let anyone push you to buy "now" or "here" - there's always a red-hot market somewhere, and the world's your oyster, particularly with today's technology and its implications for the savvy investor.

I'm not sure you're reducing your risk by staying in your market and altering your strategy.

But sellers say, since offer didn't include "&/or assigns," & because purchase agreement states: "neither this agreement nor any provision in it may be extended, amended, modified, altered or changed, except in writing Signed by Buyer & Seller," we cannot assign new Buyers without MUTUAL agreement.

Meanwhile, the mortgage is given under your name which screws up both co-mingling and alter-ego. 

The house work is your risk in the project (time, property alterations, money). 

Also, I think the simple answer is just be able to refi within 30 days -- granted, perhaps easier said than done in some cases.Its the alter-ego issue of transferring the Title to the LLC as that pierces your corporate veil. 

A precursor to major growth in a market is a city pushing to pass legislation that will alter zoning and allow more units in a smaller area, more flexibility for developers, more parking, mass transit etc. etc. just a few thoughts. 

@Ben Lake I would consider altering your strategy (or making this an additional one) by marketing to those who originated seller financed notes, 18-36 months ago.

Our big issue now is that the city is saying they potentially want us to:1) Rip out the entire garage door so they can see the framing (since he removed the load-bearing wall and they want to see that it's done properly), 2) Rip out the 9' shower so they can see the "shower pan" and verify that the piping he altered in the cement is okay3) Rip up drywall all throughout the house to verify that the plumbing and wiring he's already gotten done are up to code4) Rip down the fence and rebuild it from scratch with cedar instead of pine5) Rip up the laundry room so they can follow the piping from one side to the other as it goes to the sink6) Remove a lot of the ceiling to verify wiring since so many new lights have been added and existing ones were moved due to completely renovating the kitchenIt's honestly the permitting that's going to cost the largest amount since almost everything he did needs to be shown to them.