I would consider a text message "putting it in writing" but it's probably in the gray area of the law system which hasn't done enough to keep up with the electronic age. 

Know someone who almost went to jail over one of these, Just saying be careful and make sure you are protecting the seller, because gray area of law and you being the middle person making money while homeowner ends up foreclosed on could be predatory.

@Marcus Curtis @Jay Gray I hear what you guys are saying, but mold is a dangerous thing that really can kill people.

Also, here in Pittsburgh, I imagine not a lot of properties move between October and February in real estate - gray, gloomy, and cold weather 

On the exterior, anything concrete I would pressure wash and then stain a light gray and seal.  

I invest here in Grays Harbor exclusively.

I just finished painting the interior walls gray and it has a slight blue tint which I want to get rid of.

I am in Grays Harbor county so not as close as some other places you could get to!

Its a bit of a gray area in my opinion.  

I will pull out equity and redeploy only if the new debt service delivers the same cashflow I had before the refi. then I have dead capital in completely paid for properties that are seller financed so I'm just the bank getting the same COC rate without the rental problems. the goal here is to have enough seller finance deals to cover the debt service on the rentals in a worst case scenario of 100% vacancy. moral of the story is look for the shades of gray for what helps you sleep at night versus attaining the goal. if maximizing leverage is needed to achieve the plan, then have plenty of reserves via liquidity in some form to help you sleep better at night.