We started in real estate a couple of years ago and due to our inexperience we decided on an ultra conservative strategy in the form of all cash purchases.

I will stay away from the ultra cheapo stuff but want to keep material costs below $2/sqft and will install myself.

Even in ultra-consumer friendly California, a “civilian†can write a note secured by real estate so long as it does not violate usury.

When they rent from a landlord they become ultra dependent on you the landlord solving most of their issues.This is why one landlord I know would always say "get the rent,get the rent,get the rent !"

All have good and bad areas.If you go urban core you will be competing with the big institutions driving caps down to be ultra safe.Suburban you get the big boys sometimes that get tired of buying urban core in an over heated market.Rural areas you are competing with mostly local investors and people willing to take on a little more risk for the extra yield.

If you are an investor making a decision in the next 30 days or focused on a one-time decision it can be helpful, but that's it, in my opinion.There are other ways you can do market research, however.Also, keep in mind, AirDnA data is skewed *ultra* conservative in my opinion. 

The coupon brings this price-per-gallon down to $25.86, which is more reasonable but still expensive.It's great paint, but does not perform significantly better than HD's next best paint, Behr Premium Plus Ultra in flat white.

Luckily, I was ultra-conservative on the deal as a whole, so we didn't lose money...

They're also super duper extra ultra conservative on the cost of repairs.Couple negatives: The county is going to assess the property taxes at the total loan amount, not just the sales price on a rehab loan.FHA requires you to have PMI if under 20% and won't let you out of it until payments bring down the original loan amount to the original appraisal amount.I did a cash out refi after everything was done because my equity was above 20% by that point.If a house is eligible for a HomePath Renovation Loan, does that automatically mean there's a TON of work that it needs?

Jason D,Seems to me you got ultra bargain since you bought for deposit which is probably only a few K.