You are your own best judge so the less you have to depend on Realtors, property managers etc (who are pushing you to buy to make a buck) to make those judgements for you, the better off you will be.in 2008  being fully vested in real estate and taking the major pain pills all of us lenders and so forth were experiencing ..

I am also interested in Morgan park, Beverly, bronzeville, Douglas, Hyde park, Pilsen, kenwood, Woodlawn, pIll hill.

Profits are slim (on a % basis) here in the bay area, but generically speaking the costs are greater so the actual dollars are higher.

@Dante Gonzalez's deal is really slim to begin with, so he wouldn't be able to charge much.

I'm in the Phoenix area, but I have not been buying at the auction for the last few months, the prices between auction and retail are too slim right now.

@Bob Floss II please tell me the contractor worked with that price... cause that's a hard pill to swallow.

I’m trying to see if there is a way to send her past rent due to collections, fully understanding the odds of collecting are slim to none.

You make money when you buy - not when you sell.If the margin is too slim - it's not a deal.If market sinks when you're done with updates - what are you going to do?

I did have a syndicated 20 unit deal and the pickings were slim. 

However, many investors are happy going the same route you are with the slim margins for errors.Take a look at the 50% rule for Cash Flow (-$68.88).