You may not be able to transfer / turn on water until after you have closed on your home.11 You should do a “Final Walk Through” of the property you are purchasing within 24 hours before closing to confirm the property is in the same condition that it was in when you agreed to purchase the property and that all inspection required repairs have been completed.12 On the day of closing, all signers will need to bring their driver’s license or Passport and a Cashiers Check in the amount you are required to bring to closing.

And as long as your intent was not to simply build and resell it would make a fine 1031.  

@Andrew Pettit These questions are difficult to answer without some further context, specifically your short and long-term goals and the terms (tuition / opportunity cost) of the degree.But to take my shot at it, I would say: First, what are your goals and how does finishing a Finance degree from the school you are going to or looking at help you reach those goals?

And, never close until you have every document, have completed a Final Walk-Through of the property, and have a proper accounting for each unit. 

I went to a closing today to purchase a fine gem and the seller would not sign off on his docs due to the $50 escrow fee and a $50 deed preparation fee.

Plenty of licensed agents invest and manage properties but it is a fine line you walk.

I'll check on the wal-mart Bank Bryan-- good ideaI worry about keeping things straight too...good pointsI see why they don't want to use the internet system for rent payments, and I see why I should want to...it's a fine line when it comes to demanding too much from the tenants I'm talking about I think...Maybe if I put the tenants in charge of a receipt book or something...at least that way those tricky, possibly anonymous cash deposits should have a record on their end.It'd be nice if this just wasn't an issue!

They then have to go back for a final value assessment with work done, but that is not at the cost of a new appraisal.

I graduated college with a finance degree not too long ago.

With taht, you still walk away with a small profit on the flip, and I suspect the $150k exit figire is conservative, you may end up with $175k with a fine rehab.Can you post some specific comps and actives for us to evaluate?