That the contractor didn't provide you with pictures seems like a stretch of an accusation when you don't have any trusted overseer on location or apparently didn't budget for the plane ride to your work site.

Line item 10 on your NYS Property Condition Report asks if it is in a flood plane.

Note: I'm not a tax attorney or CPA.USC Title 26, Subtitle D, Chapter 43, 4975(c) Prohibited transaction (1) General rule For purposes of this section, the term “prohibited transaction†means any direct or indirect— (A) sale or exchange, or leasing, of any property between a plan and a disqualified person; (B) lending of money or other extension of credit between a plan and a disqualified person; (C) furnishing of goods, services, or facilities between a plan and a disqualified person; (D) transfer to, or use by or for the benefit of, a disqualified person of the income or assets of a plan; (E) act by a disqualified person who is a fiduciary whereby he deals with the income or assets of a plan in his own interests or for his own account; or (F) receipt of any consideration for his own personal account by any disqualified person who is a fiduciary from any party dealing with the plan in connection with a transaction involving the income or assets of the plan.

If jumping out of a plane you don’t go for the most affordable parachute option, you invest in the up front purchase so the back end you have the best chance of limiting what can go wrong.  

@Chris Clothier  well get your rear end out here and I will take you on a world class Steelhead fishing trip.. and then throw you in my plane and give you a tour from Friday Harbor down the east side of the cascades with a flight smack dab over Mt.

Anna Z. in looking for a PM/team I'm a firm believer if you can't or won't spend the money and get on a plane to go actually meet people and see the area then you need to rethink things.This is not to say you MUST go visit the area(though it is a good idea), but if $1000 for a plane ticket and hotel in OH or IN will be too much of a drain on your finances you need to reconsider if you are ready to invest there.What I would do is call a bunch of prospective PMs and see when a local REIA meeting is.

The only thing we really spend money on is vacations, and even then we hunt forever for the cheapest plane tickets and try not to break the bank abroad.  

Flying on a plane to go anywhere to buy a duplex and getting a conventional bank loan is a huge mistake.

From personal expirience I purchased my home on a 5/5 ARM which is fixed for 5 years then adjusts every 5, becuase I planed on paying off my house in 5-6 years (8 months left!!).

Well, everyone except me, I took my paperwork, hopped on a plane & took my certification dives in Aruba.