That being said, I won't gamble that property values will improve significantly within the next 5 years as the true improvements are taking place approximately 5-8 blocks southeast.I am going to check with the seller re: a second mortgage to see if thats an option.Seller purchased in 2014 for $100K in 2014 and prior to that, the property was sold in 2009 for $82K.  

You didn't really say what you are trying to accomplish (ie long term buy and hold, instant cash flow, gambling on appreciation) with your real estate investing.

If your goal is simply to "gamble" on appreciation ... then hold it and deal with headaches of remote ownership/management. 

You have always been engaging and authentic in your quest to help others!

Seriously, I want the input.Wells REO (I believe, been a long time)List:159K1st offer:119K + change, cash offerasked biggest & best, said had a offer at asking in (I assumed and gambled was a financed offer, based off the response)Offered 124K, cash, 15 day closing.

My lender recently notified me that freddie mac & fannie Mae guidelines have changed that don't count gambling income as "income".This puts me in a bad position as I want to invest in more homes, but without getting financed I'm limited on what I can do & at this moment I don't want to change jobs because of this change.

However, after my last transaction I realized that there was one other clause we should have added: If any repairs are agreed upon by both parties, such repairs must be performed by a licensed contractor and seller must furnish proof of authenticity of repairs.

:)No pressure, no Guru-tactics, just authentic, experienced professionals willing to share knowledge, info & contacts.  

In every project someone is taking a gamble.

Of course, you can never wait until you have everything, but it seems like there is significantly less one has to work with before starting real estate investing, making one's attempt feel more like a gamble than a calculated risk....Or is there?