To make this worthwhile, there needs to be a pretty big spread in the rents.  

That's why I'm trying to be careful with which deal works to make this worthwhile.

Real estate, starting a business, getting out of debt, or any other goal worthwhile takes time!

I feel that we are at the top of the market or damn near (like I have a clue what I'm talking about), and so I think I would have a hard time getting out of it within the next 5-10 years with any worthwhile profit. 

Why would an Investor want to pay MORE than Land value less tear down cost (even if they thought it was worthwhile fixing the original shocker building)? 

The 1% or 2% rule applies to when you're doing a quick evaluation to see if BUYING a property for an investment makes it worthwhile.

And when you are actively solving problems, the time put into the work seems worthwhile.  

If as part of your flip you're doing a lot of landscaping or hardscaping, it may be worthwhile as 'insurance'.

I know it would be harder to get a worthwhile spread with the lending costs - for hard money anyway - but where do you draw the line in the sand?

Oh well.This is still a worthwhile topic for me since we've looked at at doing the same thing to other houses.