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. 

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

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."

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

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).

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

You can find higher ROI (on paper) here and probably in other cities…but the probability of actually collecting rent significantly decreases.

Once you're ready to put pencil to paper, drop me a line at the link below.