I actually don't have a checklist written down, but I was planning on talking through the entire sequence with him soup to nuts, or encourage him to meet me at the next local REIA meeting that I'm moderating.BTW, how you been @Brian Gibbons?

You decide you might as well put nut cabinets and counter tops and flooring in the kitchen, boo ya another  7 grand. 

He told me he would sell the house and 10 acres for $150k and the lake and 110 acres seperatley for $199k and it's prime hunting, fishing and hiking land.

(A) need to accumulate more capital/equity somehow or(B) need to lower your monthly nut or(C) take on more risk to achieve higher returnsThe actual numbers vary widely based on market, types of leverage used, and how you operate... but the equation stays the same.

this actually happened with the obama administration years ago.these are what you are finding, troy. these houses are less than desirable and the bank, well frankly, " has bigger fish to fry". so these houses sit and sit and sit. get run down, and pretty soon, when the bank wakes up and realizes they have thousands of dollars in carrying costs invested in this house, they discover that they will never get anywhere near the amount that they have invested in the house back to them, so they " drop" the house. thats right, they write it off. they stop paying someone to check on it every 2 weeks, they stop paying someone to mow the lawn, etc. and they stop paying the taxes.my advice to you, call and ask the bank if they have " released the lien or mortgage" back to the original owner. some banks will tell you, others will not. then, call the local tax authority. ask how many years ago the last taxes were paid on the house and who paid them. if it was a bank, and they stopped paying the taxes, well, there is your first sign that the bank has dropped the house. they aren't going to keep paying the taxes on a house that they no longer want, are they?

@Jason Dillard   I agree with your premise in non appreciating  markets were its a given that appreciation is not going to happen at any appreciable rate .... in those markets your NUTS to buy anything that can't cash flow significantly and or you have bought it under market ( IE retail value) And it really depends on your ability to scale and run an operation.. you need a crap load of doors bringing in 200 a month to make any serious money  like a 100 or more.

A lot of people like having canals in the backyard for casual fishing and can be a peaceful environment when a patio is set up properly.

I have my own thoughts and have run some #'s but I'm just fishing for any advice.

If someone has a boat, ask them if they like fishing?

Mike and his partner do deals.. they come from appraisal backgrounds so really know the nuts and bolts of the business and the folks that attend are very nice people that are doing deals as well..