Some brokers are "jokers," but if you find a good one who has endless sources, you'll always have money for your deals in plenty, especially in the CA market.

Just because they go knocking at doors doesn't mean the word would not get out, just because they ask doesn't mean they get it or could find it as people would stash them off site and could get them later.

Of course, i would feel even better if those jokers in DC would get their act together but I predict some sort of fiscal cliff resolution will come either before the new year or very shortly thereafter

I'm going to stash as much as I can.

While you are doing that, stash as much cash as possible.

The BOD allowed the homeowners to form a shadow BOD and we (the homeowners) have basically run the HOA for the last several years.Through very careful money management and operating on a shoestring with no real improvements the HOA has stashed away a great deal of cash.

If you have very solid references or a good way of verifying the legitimacy of the person you are dealing with, that might turn out okay, but I think the ARV is trivial compared to knowing the "joker" you are dealing with can deliver a satisfactorily completed rehab.

While you don't want to rent out your current home and move to this particular property, maybe there is another property out there in which you could imagine living that you could purchase with FHA (assuming you don't already have one) that could give you instant cash flow, then you could come back in a few years once you've stashed some cash away and acquire this property.

It is dubbed the Broker Joker Circus.  

Here in Dallas the only place we see pit bulls is in front of a stash house, and the pound is call and another pit bull of the street and will never be able to attach anyone again.My experience,Joe Gore