I personally downloaded a standard lease that was designed for my state and then I went through countless webpages outlining the "necessities" for a lease.

(by Frank Galllineli)I can't stress how important it is to read and understand the basic concepts and formulae outlined in this book.# 2: The Handbook of Commercial Real Estate Investing (by John McMahan)# 3: The Due Diligence Handbook for Commercial Real Estate (by Brian Hennessey)# 4: The How to Add Value Handbook for Commercial Real Estate (by Brian Hennessey)# 5: Mastering the Art of Commercial Real Estate Investing (by Doug Marshall)Also, your question suggested that you are planning to "go it alone".

Obtain an inspection report for the property because this is what will outline everything needed in order to make it live-in ready!

For those of you who have never worked with a hard money lender, once the work is completed on a given draw the HML comes out to inspect to confirm the work outlined has been completed.

Hi George,As long as you outlined information on rent payments in your lease, you should be legally protected.

If that is the case you can be sure that the landlord will be talking to the tenant with a concern that, if not addressed, failure to maintain the lawn as outlined in the lease can be considered a breach of the lease.Mowing, raking, watering and shoveling sidewalks isn't that unusual.  

On a double closing with an REO, the selling bank will normally require you to provide proof of funds or loan approval from a lender before they will even accept your contract.As Dan outlined your earnest money will show up on your HUD 1.

This notice outlines that if we do not hear from her within five days that we will forcibly enter the property to confirm abandonment, and drill/replace the locks to ensure it’s secure.

Every sane lender had just used my student loan payment as outlined by my lender.

As others have said, get bids, make sure you're comparing apples to apples, with an outline of the scope of work being the same. :)