Cash back cannot be generated from thin air, despite what George Bush and Congress think.There are 3 simple things you could have done (and future newbies should always do) to have prevented this:Due DiligenceDue Diligence Due DiligenceThe only upside of this; (like the upside of the RE and S&L crash of the '80s) is that a lot of us, will make a lot of profit snapping up these deals for twenty five cents on the dollar in the future.

This is done to quickly determine and resolve any occupant issues, secure the property (No Trespassing), halt code violation fines, and as important, to prevent further deterioration of the property, and to rectify any public safety issues.

This can prevent headaches down the road.

I work in foreclosure prevention, loan referrals and I recently started compiling Lease-Option/Rental leads for investors and regular property owners who are looking for tennants.

and i don't regret it at all. sure it's nice to have made a great profit on my first transaction but i viewed the situation as:1) i can continue to rent...2) ...or own a property paying the same amount of rent and expenses while gaining experience.in both instances my cash flow (i'm going to include the income from my job) would have stayed relatively the same---granted i pay about 200 more due to taxes and insurance. but 200 extra a month was not as important to me as it might be for some one else who has a tighter budget. but since i made the leap definitely feel more confident navigating the entire process over again and also learned how to do some rehabbing on my own (tiling, staining, flooring, light plumbing..etc...)I also now have realistic timelines as to when certain jobs can be completed----at one time i thought I could gut and fix my kitchen and two bathrooms by myself in under 2 weeks only working weekends.

First i would think about what it will take cost and labor to strip/patch/sand,stain and finish the floors stripper and sanding pads will add up unless its an exotic wood, I personaly would simply lay new hardwood or laminate flooring down you can find all styles sizes colors types of wood and most are prefinished and are extremly easy to instiall, some are glueless and nailess.

Bush to become law, would prevent the IRS from taxing any debt forgiven in a foreclosure as income at rates as high as 35 percent.

Hence the prevention of an assignment.Put another way there is nothing illegal about assigning a short sale.

Lets call it growing pains.That said, as we move forward, we will be upgrading our equipment to prevent this from happening again.I want to express my deepest apologies for any inconvenience this crash may have caused for any of you, and hope we can count on your continued support as we move forward in the future.Sincerely,Joshua DorkinFounderBiggerPockets.com

A bank can make an internal decision to prevent all deals involving an assignment.