I've lived through rehabs, flips, short sales and made lots of money on buying and selling real estate.

You shouldn't focus on the metrics first, you should make a list of places you are interested in going to or living and then see where there is crossover with that list.

But claim they live 2 hours away and won't be present to show it.If we want to move forward, then he will quit claim deed it over at the courthouse.  

They took care of everything, it's live now!

Plus if you are able to add a garage, that will go a long way for anyone who has lived in PHX for anything longer than a year. 

It was a 1-bedroom apartment with a weird living room space that didn't feel functional. 

The banker can help you do the math.Start thinking about areas of town you want to live in and type of house you want.

I made offers of several properties, waited and monitored the countdown for the live auction to begin which never actually happened. 

If you rehab a house in one of the neighborhoods you're considering will it be surrounded by other abandoned distressed properties or are these abandoned properties located in decent neighborhoods that people will want to live? 

If you find something you picture yourself living in, then you might want to grab it.