It's a small lot in Buncombe county, NC, in a hot area just outside Asheville with city water and sewer. 

We had high velocity heating and cooling (connected with our tankless hot water heater in basement and its own AC since we had 3 zones) and ducting in an 1860 Victorian I owned.

It's a hot market and looking for tips on how to execute this sale without using an agent.  

People keep telling me that around here that is really for "developers" and I guess I don't rate yet (though I'd like to someday :))The problem is the market is so hot up here, it seems like the only way I can find a deal that supports my goals is with fixing up more distressed properties that haven't sold right away, so I'm struggling with the best way to use my available capital.

Swing by the office next time you're in town and my team will take you on another tour of our great city and show you some HOT inventory!

I can borrow a very small amount from my 401(k) at 2.25% interest for a down payment or purchase, but given how hot my local market has been that won't get me very far until I can learn some alternative strategies.  

This Valley is Hot!

So, in a hot market the seller will look first for a cash buyer with no financing contingency, second for a buyer with approved financing from a conventional lender, third from a buyer who has been qualified by a mortgage broker, and last, i at all from a buyer with a POF from a hard money lender.Of course not all sellers, or the brokers representing them are sophisticated, so if you make enough offers you WILL get some sellers that accept you POF letter.Just to show you how meaningless these POF letters from hard money lenders really are, about 8 years ago a number of lenders published a generic POF on their websites, and told potential borrowers to download the letters, fill in the blanks, and they had an instant proof of funds.  

My wife and I feel electric is more dangerous because the surface could be hot long after you turn it off and you are more likely to burn food because you cannot control the temperature as well.We see valid points on both sides of the argument so would like to know what you all have in your rentals and for what reasons?

You will need to have good property management in place or be personally involved as the tenants tend to be more management intensive.