Buyers on the other hand won't (in most cases) buy a house without personally walking through it, and someone has to be there with the key to let them in.Commission rates will continue to drop due to competition and automation of non-physical tasks.

@mau pan not sure how the laws work in pa but in Georgia you legally own the property the day of the foreclosure auction even though it can take several weeks or even months for the attorney to prepare and record the deed.So I always immediately get insurance, put utilities in my name and if it's vacant, get physical control and change the locks.Regarding the possibility of leaks, I always ask the water company to put service in my name, unlock the meter but leave it turned off at the meter.You can the turn it on yourself with a curb-key or a decent pair of pliers.

Economic Vacancy is usually much higher than the standard 5% physical vacancy assumption.Good Luck!

It was nice at first to physically hold what amounted from your accomplishments.

I can sit at a computer and invest in the stock market, but Real Estate requires leaving the house and hunting down deals, then putting in physical labor when the deal comes through.

Back up those emails onto a physical device.

I currently rent a room in NYC and would like to keep it for layover purposes, while the new property (in SC) serves as my primary residence.How often must I be physically present at the duplex, for it to qualify as my primary residence?

And are you physically going to each c rental and collecting rent every month and keeping tabs on your property yourself? 

Surprised nobody has mentioned that you shouldn't be using a cap rate to determine your offer.This is a residential property since it's under 5 units and it's value is strictly based off comps.Look what other comparable 4plex's have sold for and then decide your offer based on that.It could very well be that you're just in an area where the price to rent ratios don't make sense.

And my biggest concern regarding foreclosure property is that they don't provide you with a access to physically see the property.