Thank you, Darryl and Demos.

The benefits we are pursuing here are:due diligence - we will be purchasing this home to make money first so we would be doing all the things that a flipper would do only we would be living there instead of renters or buyers. save money - this would save money for us if we were both to pay on a mortgage rather than pay rent (even though Pittsburgh has very low rent relative to other cities, it would still be cheaper considering the type of home and price we would be purchasing)experience in all the work - we would probably do most of the demo work and easy painting but other than that we would have to contract out all the work..this will give us experience in project managing I would love to read comments regarding this idea...

Lots of them were built on fill including trash, demo debris and ashes.

I'm sure with flipping you will need some sort of demo/construction drawings created for your reno. 

We provided all the existing system demo, replaced the 4x10 'boots', framed in the return (we relocated it from a floor return to a end-of-hall wall return), and paid for permits and the third party duct test.

Watch the procedure for rehabbing and flipping and maybe clean up, put away tools or some light demo would help.

Since you going to have to demo the flooring, your going to need to have a pest control guy come out and bomb the place.

Why can't you simply put a padlock on it (or demo it?!)

I think what both of you are saying is that likelihood (or probability) is less when you are not leveraged (fewer units) , The impact could be more severe than if you leveraged and owned more units Let me quantify Basis From example above $300K start with $50 K houses / Rent $750 Expenses (%50) $375 ( you still have taxes and insurance regardless if you carry a mortgage or not) Appreciation 5% Option 1 Buy 6 $50K houses free and clear Starting equity = (300K value – 0 Loan Balance) = 300K Income = $750 Expenses (%50) $375 Cash Flow $375 Times 6 units = 2250 Month (same as Mr Duncan Demo) Option 2 Buy 12 $50K houses ($25K Down, $25K Financed) Starting equity = (600K value – 300K Loan Balance) = 300K Income = $750 Expenses (%50) $375 P&I (25K at %5 for 30 years yields monthly payment of $134 Cash Flow $240 Times 12 units =$ 2880 Month Risk assessment / Management While the probability of getting a bad tenant is more with the greater # of units, The IMPACT would be less: Risk Analysis Hazard : getting a bad tenant that late/skips on rent Effect: you lose one months rent ($750) Probability of Incidence (PofI) = in our example 1 in 20 (5%) Option 1 PofI = 6 units *(.05) = 30% chance Impact + (-$750 cash flow ) -> Net cash goes from $2250 to (2250-750) $1500 a (%33) decrease Option 2 PofI - 12 units * .05 = %60 chance you get stuck Impact = ((-$750) cash flow -> net cash goes from $2880 to (2880 – 750) 2130 = 26% decrease So while the chance Is greater with multiple units , the impact is lessoned due to the other income streams.

Now I'm back in demo mode to remove the Ditra and thinset and start over with cement backer board.