Also if all the water is out of tank and it is dry, the odds that it all evaporated are slim, the odds are very high that you have a cracked tank, and my inspector would fail the system.

Deal flow is slim right now and many people are trying to get into the same space. 

@Joe Bertolino a "mom and pop" buyer may be able to make a property work because they may do a lot of the work themselves - ie management, cleaning, etc so they can make the bottom line work for them where a more "professional" company might see it as the cash flow being too slim. 

Didnt want everyone on the board to think all of us rural KS and plains states folks are all unstable living in squalor....ha.I agree - hard to make money when your margins are that slim, would make more sense if you lived close by and could own a handful of the homes and create some economies of scale.

And, it doesn't sound like you have experience or a track record, which means the likelihood of them giving you a loan to include the full purchase price and rehab is slim to none. 

When I moved I would rent the homes at negative cash flow.....at the time I was only thinking capitol gains not cash flow.The odds of me buying my "forever house" within the next 5 years is slim and I need a place to live so I'm trying to use my house fund (65K) to buy something that either cash flows while I live in it or when I decide to rent it in the future.I agree with you guys that a temporary living period will be necessary to learn enough about the area I may want to buy in.  3-4 months is what I'm thinking now.     

@Selena WilliamsAlthough slim, I still see a few deals on the MLS for Brooklyn, specifically three and four unit properties in the East New York area.

That said, your margins are already very slim after taking realtor fee's, holding fee's, overages and capital gains taxes. 

Slim margins even though ROI is good.

@Robin McMullenYou can put in a prepayment penalty that would include required to pay all interest but chances of them signing it are slim and if it’s owner occupied you would be open to a lawsuit since I don’t believe it is legal.There is no way to stop someone.