Be sure to keep a copy of the ad with your tax papers in the 1 in 1000 likelihood that anyone will ever ask you to prove it.What you don't want is that upon the sale years later you find the IRS adjusting the cost basis to take into account the year of purchase as a year of "allowable" depreciation even though you didn't start depreciating that year because the rule is that whether you take it or not it is treated as a reduction of the cost basis.

Question to you then - how and when did you acquire the properties you have now?

@Michelle Simoni seller-financing usually only works on sellers with a problem they are motivated to get rid of:1) Been for sale for 120+ days2) Nonperforming property3) Problem tenants4) Deferred maintenance issues5) No equity6) And obviously they want to get rid of the problem MORE than they need their cash out

What is the current market valuation of the property based on comparable sales (defined as similar properties, within a 1-mile radius, within the last 30 to 180 days, that are within 10% of total square footage)? 

They've never been in another house in the neighborhood.Now often they will have more neighborhood or city knowledge, that I may not have, but I ask them questions that I think are important to the sale or value.Many homeowners focus on the wrong things. 

It will depress sales prices, even if there is a buyer willing to go through the hassle of dealing with this ordinance.Get informed!

To build a strong buyers list, connect on BiggerPockets, FB groups, local REI meetups, and use cash sales data from PropStream.

The top three expenses in a flip are the rehab costs, lender fees, and sales commissions.

It’s interesting to see home prices creeping up with that steady buyer demand, especially with spring on the horizon, and the slight inventory increase could indeed give buyers a bit more leverage—though the speed of well-priced sales backs your point about timing.

This would have allowed the investor to secure their interest against the asset while also benefiting from any equity appreciation upon the eventual sale (assuming the plan is to flip).