@Mark Mynhier  not sure about CA.. but in Oregon to be a licensed contractor you need a 20 to 50K bond and insurance.. the bond may allow some recovery.. plus most contractors don't want complaints filed against them..

Now, if the recovery was around the corner, some may prefer to bite the bullet in order to cash out then, but I don't see a quick recovery.

My understanding is that those markets are quite mature in the recovery cycle and good deals may be hard to come by.

During the economy recovery and growth period, buy and flip opportunities are lucrative as the profit spread is high. 

Bought at the height of the CO recovery in 2005, probably could sell it for a bit more than the loan, but not making any $$ off it.

May be eligible for 100% bonus depreciation if the recovery period is less than 20 years.

Starting 2015, do I depreciate the $165,000 for the remaining 21.5yrs of the original recovery period, or do I start new at 27.5 yrs again?

I'm a student-athlete at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA.

Price point: $70-100KCAP: 9.0%+Rent/Price: 1.3+Cash on Cash Return: 15%+I am really interested in Dallas and Houston because of strong macro-economic fundamentals like job and population growth, but have heard that both markets 'are farther along the recovery cycle and that means home prices have rebounded to a point where cap rates are suppressed.'  

sitting in the back in the adidas athletic gear.