If experience is the lone qualification, you can align with a good realtor and contractor and maintain far greater control along with benefiting from all of the upside.

yeah, can convert those over because again, your interests as a person arbitraging are MORE aligned with there's, not just a fee-machine like some PM's are. 

Remember when they took certain keys of the keyboards as left white house, lol. 

Deduct NEW property taxes after you buyDeduct home insurance costsDeduct maintenance percentage, typically 10%Deduct vacancy+tenant nonperformance percentage(we recommend 5% for Class A, 10% Class B, 20% Class C, good luck with Class D)Deduct whatever dollar/percentage of cashflow you wantNow, what you have left over is the amount for debt service.Enter it into a mortgage calculator, with current interest rate for an investment property, to determine your maximum mortgage amount.Divide the mortgage amount by either 75% or 80%, depending on the required down payment percentage - this is your tentative price to offer.If the property needs repairs, you'll want to deduct 110%-120% of the estimated repairs from this amount.Be sure to also research the ARV and make sure it's 10-20% higher than your tentative purchase price.As long as the ARV checks out, this is the purchase price to offer.It is probably significantly below the asking price.

That guy left overnight and squatter took over.

Also not too much left for capital expenses (I.

I can definitely help you find refinance solutions that fit your strategy, including options with shorter seasoning periods and up to 75% LTV cash-out refinances.I have relationships with dozens of private lenders who cater specifically to foreign investors, all of which offer flexible terms that could align with your goals.

You are right, the current ARV is probably right around the total of purchase and reno, which does not justify for a flip in this market, assuming there's no potential unforeseeable costs, which left no cushion.  

A reasonable person would assume if my rental burned down a couple months ago they would've left me on the hook for it all, meanwhile paid for the coverage all year long.

If you do a cash out refinance on the primary, you won't have a HELOC left to buy any more properties.