As far as property taxes you definitely earn a partial exemption BUT the deadline to file for this year is March 1 so don't mess around.

Even when they said no, I left the contract with them and told them it has a 24-hour deadline and let me know in case they change their mind... and they did!  

If your market is really tight then appreciation is probably a good possibility for you. 

From what it sounded like, he has a tight relationship with his contract and thus pays the 20-30k expected renovations ahead of time.

As soon as they start having a high number of claims from a specific type of risk, they tight the nut but it is not a cookie cutter.I'm here to help if you need it.

When it comes to investing in alarms and all that, I would think you would be making your margins kind of tight if you are in a low income/low rent neighborhood.  

Once the appraisal comes in, which is always before the Loan Objection deadline, the Buyer has the right to terminate the contract based on the Loan Objection deadline, citing that "in the buyer's sole subjective discretion they cannot get a loan at terms that are satisfactory to them."

So money right now is now issue, however who knows how long I can put up with having a roommate so I want the flexibility if things get tight down the line, say I purchased a property, etc.Would it be worth pulling out all the money I can on my house or better off just leaving some in equity?

Also, I could be wrong but the fact that you are considering doing this indicates to me that your finances might be tight.  

And that's if you can get a loan, what if banks are tight then due to another downturn?