It was amazing:  THEY paid ME for going to school!!!

Bottom line, his song to me was he had a partner in another business that his grandmother wanted to loan to this partner for a new startup and he was trying to assist her.

As someone who works with a lot of investors and have assisted new and experienced investors, I would suggest you forgo buying a property for right now and look to build your nest egg in a different way.  

And there can be code compliance upgrades that are needed also.I do understand your desire to reduce expenses, and also to protect your down side at the same time.I know some people that are forgoing flood insurance for the same reason.

If I think of the 12 new constructions I bought for GO zone 6 to 7 years ago..

Please get with someone that knows what they are doing in this space before you lose most or all of your money buying a lemon.Furniture stores are notorious for going out business.

@David Song yes, I'm serious.

In addition, with interest rates so low, there is a good deal of amortization (principle paydown) even in the early years.Between the likelihood of values rising, rents rising, inflation eating away at the loan payback, quick amortization and the additional tax benefits of rentals (depreciation and potentially bonus depreciation), I'm happy to forgo cash flow.  

Happy to share my real estate knowledge, some jokes, cook up some fresh island flavors, and some warm island songs on the uke!!!!

Getting on here was a wise move and you can even look for investor meetup pages on social media to connect with Baltimore area investors or lenders like me and others responding here, simply to gain more knowledge about the addresses and locations you bid on.I would suspect that the best way to limit your losses here and learn some valuable lessons is to forgo your deposits and move on.