I have been burned on this too.

Most make significant investments in time and energy even if that means years of education before creating a start up that takes off.Crash and burn is normal for fast cash ideas.

I am buying name brands, not generics or cheapies, and the last batch lasted about 3 months before burning out.

If it is in yours then likely it is in theirs as well.If it doesn't say in yours then likely it's not in theirs.I can't give legal advice but rather than suffer in silence I would call the landlord and explain you have sensitive lungs and cannot be inhaling in second hand smoke.Second hand smoke is actually MORE DANGEROUS than first hand smoke.The reason is the person smoking the cigarette has a filter before inhaling in and the second hand smoker breathes all the smoke in without a filter.Today's cigarettes are pumped full of chemicals because it is cheaper to make and the burn is faster.The faster the burn the more people will smoke and buy that next pack with a huge mark up.Back in the day smoking was almost all pure tobacco but it is so expensive they use chemicals and very little tobacco today.So in short don't put up with it.

I also can't get a line of credit big enough to make these deals and rehab with out burning alot of my cash up.

There have been many an investor who got burned out of the business using the margins you used.All the best and on to the next deal!

With HUD it depends on many things when purchasing.If for instance the purchase was part of the good teacher,police firefighter etc. with the discount you have to live there so many years period or you will have to repay some money.Also if your buyer bid during the owner occupant only period to get the property and will never move in that is fraudulent.Investors frequently use to do this to not wait until the investor period came.It is a crime to do this now.Some would also say they were living there to get an owner occupant loan with a lower rate.This is committing mortgage fraud.Many do things to ride the line everyday and some get burned and others do not.I wouldn't want to be on the governments radar though.So without knowing the specifics of how the transaction went down it's hard to say.If the title company says 2 years and they do a lot of HUD then I might take that at face value.I have seen HUD go out to properties before,check where mail is sent to for taxes,etc. after they were bought.

Google earth and street view can tell you a lot about an area without actually having to hit the street.After doing some online research you would be well served to burn a tank or two of gas to get a true feel.

Eventually I want to use debt to leverage and I was wondering if I should seek financing now, and not burn a lot of cash since I heard cash of refi's are extremely hard to do right now.

I have had one tenant burn out a ceiling fan because it was so dusty that when it was cleaned enough dirt went in the motor to stop it from working.We use Home Depot life time warantee paint so if a tenant puts holes in our walls it's a 25 dollar fee per hole and if it's scratched or dirty they are charged regardless of how old the paint is because it's warranted as long as I own the home and it's not damaged. ( The tenants are told to hang items on the wall with Command strips ) I use them in my own home and they work well.Our laminate floors carry a lifetime warantee as well so if there is wear or damage from not caring for it the tenant is buying a new floor.