There were some tell tale signs on the surface that a trained eye might notice to clue one on the conditions, but the average guy would have though the site was never developed because there were trees and vegetation all over the place.

Especially if home isnt staged, to much gloss and hard surfaces makes for a "cold" feel.

Just not sure how to show the bank I have skin in the game.

The agent has skin in the game so if they are lazy and waste my time they will pay for it.

@Ervin Alex Single familys , condos , town homes , twin homes , ect all have the same denominator - Seller motovation is the key The more motovated the better the potential deal Properties with no equity on the surface can be turned into homeruns if lien holders are willing to discount !

Just adding thickness won't block the entire listening frequency spectrum, surface textures can help too, look to studio construction, it should explain the frequency ranges and standards as well as textures in design.....find an audio engineer.Why not ask the neighbor not to put the dog along that wall.

That way your buyer has some skin in the game and will be less inclined to back out.

Getting into a buy and hold with only $25k could be a problem too in CA, so you would have to venture into the desert cities combined with leverage or go out of state.Investing in a syndication may be tough because you would not be an accredited or sophisticated investor, potentially making you ineligible.I would learn what I could on rehab flipping and/or wholesaling, use that $25k as your skin in the game (after you get fully educated on how to) and build more capital from there.

However, when we were looking, Realtors told us the PM fees could be as high as 30%, so I don't think 20% is out of line on the surface of it.

At that point, we will have fresh paint on every surface in the home, fresh carpet in all rooms, all new light fixtures and switches/'bling' oiled bronze switch plates...