I am thinking maybe the owner would be happy to receive some rental income and instead of it being a money pit because he has to pay some employees such as a manager and gardener to take care of it while it sits empty and for sale. 

It really start stacking up.We did this with one of our landscaping vendors for String of TH we own.

My issue is I quit my job last year and started a landscape business.  

Roof should be fine but it is a simple garden home a-frame house. 1,300 square feet.

They are gardeners, so they have all the tools.

@David Grabiner How are maintenance items like landscaping, snow plowing, trash pickup, etc. being handled?

Investment Status Substatus Date First Invested Maturity Bergen County Flip Active Delinquent 5-May-15 1-May-16 Tower Lakes Purchase Active REO 21-May-15 22-Jan-16 19-21 Baldwin Fix Flip Active Foreclosure 30-Jul-15 28-Jul-16 Memphis Garden Apartment Complex Active Foreclosure 22-Oct-15 7-Apr-17 Indianapolis Shopping Center Active Loan Current 18-Apr-16 14-Apr-18 Vermont Ski Resort Townhomes Active Foreclosure 1-Nov-16 1-Nov-17

We're talking about tearing up all the pee-soaked carpet (dogs..) and bleaching/disinfecting the concrete foundation underneath, replacing a majority of the second floor sub-floor, fixing the roof, fixing the HVAC, repairing the garage (door hanging on by a thread), scrubbing and disinfecting all the cabinets (roach feces everywhere), tearing up and replacing the landscaping, fixing the roof, inspecting and repairing any water damage... the list goes on and on.

I will probably want to refinance at least 80% of that into something fixed at some point to hedge against rates going up.Monthly costs:* debt service = $441 (141,000 *0.0375/12)* insurance = 78 (quote from Geico)* HOA: 860* taxes: $149 (it's $894 each per year)* repairs: $100 (I'm estimating a little less than with an SFR because with a condo I don't worry about the roof, the hot water heater, landscaping, etc.)total: 1628Monthly income: $2660 (1410+1250)Net: 1032Cap rate = 8.7% (1032*12/141000)Things I didn't include: closing costs, vacancy.

In Tax Free Wealth by Tom Wheelright, he talks about doing cost segregation for all of the pre-existing stuff like cabinets, appliances, floor coverings, parking lots, fences, landscaping, etc.