I’m 19, and after sitting down and really thinking about what I want to do with my life I decided real estate is the path I want to pursue. I am completely new to this and just starting out researching around and am w...

After that we did a full gut job rehab on the condemned unit including new cabinets, counter tops, appliances, shower, vanity, toilet, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, refinished the hardwood and put LVP in bathroom/kitchen and finished it up with a fresh coat of paint.

The long way is to just dig into the country records database and you will eventually uncover the owner names and addresses (if not owner occupied). 

You're generally expecting to eat the cost for shampooing or replacing old carpets, freshly paint the walls, etc.

So it cost you a few hundred bucks to move forward with confidence – then you start making money.Best Case SituationYou uncover some real warts on this frog.

This time is spent uncovering what we can about the seller.They are motivated but what is motivating them to sell, once we get to the true motivation we try to structure a deal that gets a fair price (for them and us) and solves the problem we can then capitalize on their motivation. 

People that see our units are very impressed with the cleanliness and freshness of the property. 

In California (& I am told this is state specific but have never had reason to double check that, since I'm a one-state LO), Section 1 of the termite report needs to be cleared for it to go VA.This typically means a freshly fixed up property OR a seller that's willing to make what would be considered a steep concession on a 2-4 unit transaction.

There is going to be much more information uncovered as you dig in.

We mostly want it to pay for itself and hopefully make a small profit until we can retire and use it as a summer retirement home.As far as income and vacancy projections, a quick internet search uncovered 2 other similar cottages nearby with availability calendars and price rates for the next year.