There are 3 identical lots next to mine (with motivated sellers) as part of the same development plan.thanksKen

Maybe the totals year over year would be pretty identical if you factored in short sales as well.I definitely see a lot more short sales on MLS than I remember from last year.What I am seeing is a lot less of the lower priced houses (sub 100k) these days.

There are investors that do this kind of thing with HUD homes as well.They sign paperwork at closing that they are occupying the property.Another component of this is fraud to a lender on a loan if you say you will be living there.The reason is lenders give certain rates to owner occupants because statistically you will fight much harder to keep a place you live in.If it's just a bad investment it is easier to walk away hence a higher rate and more down.This property from what you said is 2,400 X 12 = 28,800By half is 144,000 at a 10 cap based on 50% costs.The carpet and paint the bank put lipstick on it it appeal to a home buyer living in one unit and driving the price up.On a quad typically you could expect about 8,000 for the siding,4,000 for the roof,6,000 for 4 outside A/C units,if interior bathrooms and kitchens are outdated about 4,500 by 4 units is 18,000,then water heater and heater about another 6,000 total.So conservatively I have about 42,000 in immediate CAPEX.Every areas cost is different so I am just throwing mine out there.Now the other you say 20 quads total is what you need to worry about.If there are a bunch of short sales and foreclosures from vintage 2004,2005 loans then the new purchaser with a cash offer or a small debt service will rent below market to fill quickly and turn more or the same monthly cash as you.So you starting out at 600 rent monthly might go to 550 or 525 in your development.I have seen this happen.I have also seen even if your building is well kept quality tenants do not want to live next to the other buildings where landlords put in suspect tenants to fill up.Also some landlords with high debt service will drop rent instead of repair to keep tenants so they won't spend tens of thousands out of pocket to rehab.

It's an area that attracts abuse and fraud because so many are out for the quick buck without putting in the work or providing value.

If their credit reports check out and don't have any flags, I may meet with them and go over the Lease Agreement.The only thing that I'm a little uncertain about, is the payroll receipts that she sent me... they look like they were typed on a typewriter or something, though every document is identical to the others in format.

The FTC mandated this from the credit bureaus in order to help prevent/curtail identity theft.

The tenant has to verify their identity to pull credit, you cannot just get their approval on your application.

I don't know the details of your deal but the appraiser/mentor might have committed fraud.

What do you DISLIKE the most about PM's you have utilized (besides, you know, Fraud!)?

As an example, dual pane windows may cost $12,000 to have installedbut if you have two identical houses except for those dual pane windowsthe average buyer will not pay an additional $12,000 for the house thathas them.