Since the bank REO inventory seems to be drying up, I’m ramping up my private seller marketing once again (yellow letters, etc.)

Hard to say without seeing it and how rotted away the sub floor is.  

To date, over 21,000 words, it's not in my writing style as in forums, conversational but instructional, dry, to the point sentences, text book style, no fluff, no stories, no pitches and I'm still not happy with it!

the real issue is usually not termites, but wood rot.. near downspouts, corners of buildings, joints & trim, roof transitions/trim, window trim, inside bathrooms and around tubs..

I know many of you are into buying delinquent and/or re-performing 2nd trust deeds but isn't that eventually going to dry up since there isn't a bank out there that's offered one since 2008?

I have met plenty of pit bulls/rots and most of have been big babies BUT I would not go into their house without being invited!

I dried up my savings and wasn't a single step closer to actually investing in real estate!

Direct in soil, you will need to check for rotting, settlement and deflection in the beam being carried.

Would you recommend jumping right into a cheap house (15k) that needed a lot of repairs like replacing water pipes, gas lines, floors in one room, A/C Duct, and rotting wood on the exterior?

After inspection, we found some minor items and a rather sizable repair issue that involved replacing some beams and rot (band board, beam, trim).