The initial appraisals were around $70K for each and each have about $45K principal.

It's definitely a city that has been booming recently.When you say your expenses per month are $1910, is that PITI (Principal, interest, taxes, insurance), and HOA fees combined? 

@Barry Cooley,It is my understanding that the life estate is terminated when the principal beneficiary no longer occupies the property. 

I can sell it or rent it easily.Is it better to sell it or rent it.The house appreciated about 70k in 4 years and about 30k principal reduction which a total of 100k..If I rent it I can make $700 monthly above mortgage.I purchased another primary residence and am moving in two weeks.I want to make the best decision.Thank you for your input.

@Alan FaitelPayments for participant loans must be fully amortized principal and interest, made at least quarterly.

I believe one of the owners of Performance is also an attorney.I've dealt with M&M a lot, as have a couple of my agents (acting as agent or principal), and also my husband on the lending side - literally every transaction has resulted in frustration due to varying levels  of incompetence demonstrated by their staff.As far as real estate attorneys go, it really depends on what you need.

This is the first time I've heard of thisOhio has 30 days grace period after foreclosure sale: owner has the right to pay off all the debt and redeem the property.The investor get paid money back within a month or two, and if you borrowed cash to pay for the sale - too bad - you'll get only the principal, what you paid.I've got twice in such hassle: once on tax sale and once on regular residential sheriff sale

I can't refinance because the crash of the market versus the amortization of my mortgage on the space means that the balance due (principal) is basically equivalent to the appraised value of the property. 

It seems to me that if you have a strong understanding of RE investing and its principals, it would not be difficult to build a team that will operate under your direction.

Likewise, your annual or quarterly or whatever property tax payment is expensed when paid, if you're on the the cash basis (which most people are) but you've already counted that in the reserves.Here is what your accounting software probably shows in the month that you paid the property taxes.Rental Income - $1000.00Expenses:Insurance:               30.00Property Mgmt:   100.00Mortgage Int:        350.00Property Tax:        700.00   Total Expenses:    1180.00Net Loss                   180.00So what you want to do is dump this report into excel in order to reconcile it back to your cash flow.Start with your Net Loss Number and then make adjustments until you reach your cash flow:Net Loss:        180.00Add Expenses Paid from Reserves:Property Taxes:  700.00Subtract Other Cash PaymentsMortgage Principal: $150.00Amount transferred to reserves:  $80.00Net Cash Flow:  $290.00Cash Flow is a completely separate calculation than Profit and Loss.