A major caveat is that I have learned that I don't have enough hours in the day to run concurrent $30k renovations for investors so I am very sensitive to ensuring we are targeting quality properties for basic renovation, not targeting fire-damaged properties for massive rehab.The natural conclusion of the buyer-agent rehab and rent concept is offering completed and performing rentals at a similar price range as the all-in rehabs so I do offer my regular group of investors a few Turn-Keys...properties that have been in my portfolio for a few years, typically rented Section 8 (which I feel are very stable investments), with my company continuing to manage so the tenants never feel a change in authority.

If there's a hole, it may be a red flag.b) sensitivity analysis: I examine all the assumptions, and make sure I can live with the worst case scenarios.c) "Stall and see": if they are getting money over multiple years, and there is no penalty for investing later, I would usually wait so I get some real performance data, versus having to look at theoretical pro forma information.d) Recession stress test: I will not invest in anything, until I subject it to recession level stress and see if I can live with the result.

I do have a to say borrowing money from a credit card to invest in them is a bit too risky for me as these are fairly risky investment vehicles as they are highly leveraged and are very sensitive to interest rate moves.Things can go south very quickly.

I'm a newbie and was wondering if someone might be so kind as to allow me to observe their negotiation process with a motivated seller (I realize this is sensitive) and also glean some insight into your formula for how you came up with the offer.

I don't have too many properties, 10 units, and they barely break even so very price sensitive due to local rent control and covet moratorium issues.

So, simple example with no taxes:* Portfolio value: $10,000,000 * Portfolio dividend/coupon income: $500,000 (5%) * Get loan for 75% of portfolio to buy a property: $7,500,000 * Interest on loan: -$112,500 (1.5%) * Rental income: $262,500 (at 3.5% cap) * Appreciation: $225,000 (at 3% of the $7.5m) * Net income: $875,000 (8.75% on your original $10m)This doesn't count any portfolio value appreciation, and historically, Manhattan goes up more than 3%.This is obviously a risky strategy if you do not have any more cash than the $10m because of the LIBOR rate sensitivity and the risk your portfolio will drop significantly in value and your portfolio loan will get called.

If you will be investing in a number of short term notes and therefore creating more transactions and perhaps some time-sensitivity for getting things done, then having a 3rd party processor could be a barrier in terms of paperwork, processing delays and per-transaction/per-asset fees.  

Any recommendations for reliable, time-sensitive general contractors in the area? 

If there's a hole, it may be a red flag.b) sensitivity analysis: I examine all the assumptions, and make sure I can live with the worst case scenarios.c) "Stall and see": if they are getting money over multiple years, and there is no penalty for investing later, I would usually wait so I get some real performance data, versus having to look at theoretical pro forma information.d) Recession stress test: I will not invest in anything, until I subject it to recession level stress and see if I can live with the result.

I feel like places like Vallejo/Stockton are long term bets... for the short term one might see some appreciation but they're a lot more sensitive to market corrections so one has to be prepared for that.Speaking of corrections, someone at the Sacramento RE conference last year mentioned that the biggest signal if a neighborhood will retain its value during a downturn are those with healthy mature trees.