This allows the Board to spend the funds on anything, and if they do, the owners would need to restock the reserves!

I have a feeling my entire local market is going to be the same outlook to make their over value seem reasonable to themselves..Do you or they, control the future?

The few times I called the office, they were always happy to spend time talking. 

That is dissapointing that they did not vet the people they would be spending hours and hours touring properties.

But at a $1.5M asking price, as long as you don't have to spend more than $300k in rehab (without raising rents), this is a slam dunk deal that should easily be financed  at 75% LTV by a "investment real estate-friendly" bank/credit union that is located fairly close to the properties.

And you're asking the cleaner to drive to the house, spending time, gas, and wear and tear on their car. 

The delivery guy told the local animal control. 

I am not talking about the time to get permits approved because it is not in their control, only talking about the time it took them to get the paperwork submitted.2. 

If you spend the entire $300k restoring the property, then here is the end result:- deductible casualty loss of $50k- no current tax- the restored property has $0 basis and cannot be depreciated- when it is later sold, the entire sale price is taxableMechanics and reporting are tricky, and I would not recommend to DIY it, especially since my scenario is over-simplified, and your real scenario is likely to involve more gotchas.Thanks so much. 

That's why we require clients to spend a couple days with us in Milwaukee up front, so we can get on the same page and determine an asset quality.Hint: the hood looks much better on a spreadsheet than up close in person.