Blue Gate Capital strung me along until very close to closing and almost cost me the deal.

Can try to reposition to Class B, but neighborhood may impede these efforts.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, but 15-20% should be used to also cover tenant nonpayment, eviction costs & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores of 560-620 (approaching 22% probability of default), many blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 2 years.

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

I had few options so our cost doubled.  

All else being equal, lower mortgage rates reduce the cost of ownership and, thereby, allow more people to afford to buy.

So I would say either you need an agent who is a better negotiator than you and justifies their cost or if you value a professional opinion who can double check you.

Id keep looking if it was not an approved short sale ( even an approved short sale takes a very very long time and theres no guarantee that you will even close on the house after months of waiting). q1)There are plenty of non traditional lenders that could offer you construction financing if the numbers make sense but it will cost you with points and a higher rate.

We're stuck, cost us too much to cancel at this point but know that we will NOT renew anything and have multiple reminders so we get the cancellation notice in on time.

You will have holding costs along the way with repairs, maintenance, taxes, etc.

Real estate is not the stock market and it's called buy & hold and not buy & sell for a reason.I did sell a few properties about 10 years ago when I learned the hard way that going into cheaper neighborhoods was not the right strategy for me, so that was basically a strategy correction and it was necessary, but also costly both in terms of dollars and time.