We got lucky (ugly house in the perfect neighborhood) and took a big gamble on a courthouse steps auction. 

Insurance is a lot like gambling: the house always wins.They entice you to pay extra by promising to cover the full cost, minus deductible.

**************/mvc/auction/810929So buying it is a gamble that the owner never pays it off and you could foreclosure on the house.However if owner pays it off then you would loose everything over the $85 you pay?

Hey Josh, I have several properties in the UK.  

Hello, I'm currently stationed in the UK but will be moving back to the States next year. 

However, if he is giving you a discounted fee for his labor and is willing to gamble on a percentage of the "profit" instead then that would be okay - but you may have to dig in your pocket to pay that percentage at the back end. 

Not having more info I would gamble that your price needs adjusting .  

Not interested in gambling and holding onto this for a few years.

Appraently they are considered low risk for lenders and I would think in my situation they would feel pretty darn comfortable that I'm going to be a good gamble.

Flipping in the uk has low transaction costs and therefore makes lots of sense, but this post (below) made me a little crazy because in the US, transaction costs make sure the entrepreneur with all the risk/work gets only half the profit....even if it goes well....whereas the realtor(s) and money guy gets half ( or more) of the flip for close to zero risk.