There is a gutted duplex that is just sitting in my neighborhood on Nunan St downtown right now.

We got a really good deal on it because it was sitting for a long time and we came in under asking direct to the agent for the seller.

The house sits near a freeway junction and a busy street, and while my previous rental was also close to the freeway, something about this home's elevation makes the noise unbearablyintrusive.

If you watch the market every day for a couple weeks, you'll quickly learn what is renting and what is sitting on the market.

If somebody could get a deal every time they sent out 1300 letters then they would be sitting in a pretty good position. 

Both properties have a substantial amount of equity that’s essentially sitting idle.Would it be a good idea to tap into this equity (through a HELOC, cash-out refinance, etc.) to fund future fix-and-flip projects or purchase additional rental properties?

I've never heard from anyone who's happy with their HOAs, especially the people who sit on the HOA boards.Unless you love landlording, then sell and cash out while you can. 

I have seen this range from as low as $100 up to $300.Do I need to pay anything before sitting at the closing table?

The inspection report did not mention many of the expensive repairs I'm facing.For one, one of the units cannot even be rented until I spend at least $10k getting the electric up to code, among other repairs, so its been sitting vacant.

Unless you bought in D class, very low appreciation area, you should be sitting pretty.