So investor loans were dog tough to get and only for the most well qualified.. and rates now are still historic lows they dropped actually in December at least owner occ did.. so depending on the area and if you have uber capacity to transact you can take advantage.I look at a lot of the folks that post here and many are in areas were houses are priced like autos pretty easy to buy 4 houses when they are only 20k each.. :)  so keep in mind things get tough financing could hinder your ability to partake  today financing is still very strong. 

I ended up negotiating a separate escrow agreement with the Seller's attorney in which the Seller fixed the roof and the water damage to the attic to the Buyer's satisfaction (inspected by Buyer's home inspector) and therefore Buyer paid the originally negotiated price - but, my Buyer client was pretty close to walking away.I framed it quite simply - that Seller had failed to act in good faith in failing to disclose the leak and that Buyer was going to cancel the transaction if Seller did not fix the problem.Sorry to hear about the issues.In light of the broker acting in a dual capacity, I am glad to hear that you have an attorney representing your best interests in this transaction.

@Jeffrey Lecroy I have a lot of respect for anyone that has served in any defense capacity, but I also think you want to optimize for what will be the best tenant so I don’t think the fact that he is a Marine alone is enough to decide to rent to him.

@Markus Gomez There is still a lot of opportunity in the Midwest...it's really just a matter of what you are after...in combination with other factors like risk tolerance, resources, preferences, capacity, spousal support, etc....glad to chat about the local central Ohio market if you're interested.Good luck! 

It may return less.If your desire is to increase your capacity to invest in properties while sheltering your tax liability, you may be better served by selling the condo while it qualifies as a personal residence and purchasing another property locally as a house hack.

If your property is stabilized and cash flowing at full capacity, you should be paying down the principal. 

The capacity of the occupants is important - past owners or tenants. 

The way we now deal with vacant properties is that we have a Simplisafe alarm system with battery backup and cellular capacity, as well as a Night Owl multicamera/DVR system.

Yes, again it depends on your goals and capacities as an investor, including how active or passive you want to be. 

I don't know exactly what this would be; I never looked into it.My question to all of you is this: In the next 4-5 months, what kinds of skills (such as those which can be found on Skillshare or elsewhere) would make me most valuable in some capacity to active investors (especially flipping)?