The challenges of Detroit are unique, real, heartbreaking, pocket-busting, exhausting, sad, scary, life-threatening, bureaucratic craziness filled with love hope and despair.  20% CAP rates are not free my friends. 

Is it better to invest in new properties that have a better chance of withstanding a quake?

His license number is your shield, if he does not do it, you have legal grounds to get a contractor's bond claim through his bonding agency, you will have to call the CSLB consumer hotline to guide you how to do it, they will require you that you document everything - you have to exhaust all options that the contractor should do the corrections, after that, get 2-3 bids from other contractors and the bond company will cover the difference in cost then go after the original contractor - it is like you are only paying the original contract amount.

Also, I do know that a properly written one will withstand the scrutiny of the securities boards as one of my clients once had to answer to the state of Texas and the properly written JV agreement save him.

.), then if those are exhausted, seek legal action. 

Maybe one of our experts could give Buddy some assistance because where I stand, I'm not sure if all of his options have been exhausted, but none of us know his whole story.     

The owners say they had the property to use up the tax breaks and have exhausted them all, which makes it an attractive target to negotiate for seller financing (the installment sale presumably spreads out the tax hit over several years).

This phrase underpins my core investor values: Market timing is exhausting and fails most.Time over money.Money is not wealth.Time leads to wisdom.Wisdom leads to wealth.Allow me to quickly break this down.MARKET TIMING IS EXHAUSTING AND FAILS MOST.The 2018 global economy is highly-tech enabled and real-time connected.

Once he’s exhausted those 78 leads then you guys can talk actual price cut.

Depending on the jurisdiction, the requirements for permit can be extensive and will exhaust all your time before you can even start any kind of construction.