These are not guaranteed to work and my PM still makes them go through a background check, but this does help eliminate a lot of the foolishness that comes with a Sect. 8 tenant that looks good on paper and when you meet them,....but they also happened to forget to mention they have "baby pit", they only smoke outside, and that their boyfriend who has 2 kids of his own all of a sudden has started living there because he "needs a place to stay.

This is where I tell my investors that it is your job to understand what you can and cannot do and lead your professionals who JOB is to complete the technical paper work.

Thanks mateBut they where only paper gains for investors, right?

Those pro forma numbers look great on paper whether flipping or buy and hold for rentals - I've talked to many California investors losing money in these inexpensive "cash flow" markets. 

Some sellers may be willing to hold the paper. 

.- Capital losses can offset gains (Short term offsets short-term and long-term offsets long-term)- Tax loss harvesting - If you have other investments (At a loss) sometimes you're able to sell them and offset your gain- Charitable giving- Paper losses from your investment propertyWith some more information, we can hone in on which options would be applicable for you.Hope this helps!

During this process I've run across a property in Birmingham that has some good numbers "on paper."

If that’s the case, should I be looking into pulling the equity out of the house in the form of a mortgage to help generate a paper loss (I would estimate I could get a 100-120k mortgage).

I look at it as profit on paper only and is worth nothing until a transaction is complete.

What type of damage award can be given for what would essentially be a paper cut?