It's a tough market to enter at the moment, but I'm of the belief that there are always deals to be had if you keep your eyes and your mind open.

More units equals more money, which means you need to sound and be professional.

It is in better shape than most HUD homes I've seen, so pardon my belief that this property could be purchased w/ a conventional mortgage.  

For expenses, you could start off using the 50% rule (assume expenses will equal 50% of your rental income) for initial analysis, but once you're doing serious due diligence, you can do the following:-Look up the property tax rate on the county assessor's website-Contact insurance companies for estimates on insurance-There are some rules of thumb for estimating regular maintenance and cap ex costs.

Then park that cash somewhere where the interest will equal the payment and then wait for the next perfect storm to bring the houses to you again.  

The principles of Leverage work equally for the young and old.

More people equals more deals.

w@Kevin Siedlecki very correctly pointed out that you moving into a backyard shed would be a likely zoning violation (which is not criminal -but could lead to a fine if found out, then warned and warnings are ignored), but that would not dissuade me if shed living equaled saving money.  

Hey @Brad WeaverJust my opinion, not a recommendation or telling you what to do, but all things being equal and you have reliable market data, you can take advantage of both.

My question is, does it make sense to buy an "already" rehabbed property or just rehab a distressed property with an after rehab value equal to the "already" rehabbed home?