OK. got that out of my system.Aaron, you are in a super sweet position.

We've got a certain area of town, where homes are typically built from 1960-1980 and they can be as cheap as 35k if you get a really sweet deal.

Banks are not going to lend without an appraisal, and appraisers have no reason to risk their license/reputation by giving a true opinion of value that might contradict a contract price.If they are given the answer before they start, all they need to do is determine if the contract price is within a reasonable buffer of their opinion of value and if so, then the contract price becomes the appraised value.Think about it this way, what if you had a contract for $250K and an appraiser came in at $248,500 - you would now have to bring an extra $1500 to the table or see if you could sweet talk the seller down $1500 (or maybe split the difference).  

I plan to sell these 2k sq ft homes with the additional adu in the 650k range.. so for the home owner they can defer almost half their mortgage payment  sweet deal for all...

I've been lurking on BP and watching the podcasts/seminars for a little while now and I am excited to get started in investing.I will try to keep this short and sweet...My mom owes $65,000 on her home (SFH 3/2), currently appraising for $120,000 as-is.Current mortgage payment is $500 a month with rents in  the area in the $1200 - $1350 RangeHome needs $35,000 - $40,000 in rehab (based on 3 estimates) .A similar home, okay finishes recently sold for between $160,000 - $185,000Unfortunately, my mom is disabled and isn't in a financial position to get the home repaired and wouldn't qualify for any type of loan due to credit issues as well.She's willing to sell me the home and willing to loan me the profits of the sale to kick off our investment portfolio. 

The large difference is due to risk and time commitment.IMO, the sweet spot is to add value in real estate and get that 10-20x multiple on the value added (with as little "business" activity as feasible (i.e. leverage 3rd parties)).

It is sweet.

Howard,Seems like my last post got removed so ill make it short and sweet.

It is a sweet little market for coastal southern CA, kind of the forgoten step child that is coming into it's own.  

So it looks like this..Sales Price- $250,000Down Payment- $8,750 (3.5%)Interest Rate- 2%Monthly Payments- $1220Term- 20 yearsPretty sweet deal.. thanks for the help guys!!