My wife and myself have found our dream house but are concerned about an unknown dirt or soot that is in the home.

I actually bought a 4 unit a mile away for $45,000 last year but that needed about 30K worth of work so I feel this is about right as this one is turn key with no repairs needed.The seller financing deal - Sales price $63,500Cash at close from me $50004 year note @ 4% for remainder ($58,500), monthly payment of $1000 with balloon at the end, no prepayment penalties.Monthly projectionsIncome =     $2200Expense=    $220 management                     $220 CAPEX = No problems yet but "Unknown age" on the roof and owner has had property for 20 years                     $480 Insurance/taxes = Total taxes for 2017 were $4982 on assessed value of $78000 plus $600 a year for insurance

Lastly, he is still very new in that space and the complete RE cycle story is yet unknown.

If you talk to her and say, "You know, I think it's probably worth $175K after it's all fixed up, I think it will take me $60K with with all the known and unknown work, plus 6 months of my own time (@$4k/mo), interest on the loan, insurance, permits, etc etc, so subtracting that from the final value, I can offer about $50-60K." 

Banks don't like taking in unknown files via attachment.Any good mortgage banker/broker should be able to get you a list.Good Luck!

This is a new endeavor for us, so the unknown is certainly nerve-wracking (more-so for my wife than me).

Would you invest in a cheaper unknown area with the possibly of investing in multiple properties or invest most\all money in a known area?

Hey everyone,I've found a potential property investing in through craigslist and I had a few questions regarding it.Here are the details:Triplex fully rented: ASKING $479,000 - 3 Bed 2 Full Bath (rents for $1200) - 2 ...

Here are the key data points:Park info  Located in Alabama61 lots25 owner occupied homes18 park owned homes (14 currently rented; 4 currently being repaired and should be rented soon)18 vacant lotsAvg lot rent - $160 (unknown what the market rate is but it doesn't sound like there has been a rent increase in at least a year, maybe more)Avg POH rent - $400Expense ratio - seller claims 26% but I'm estimating 35% for the lots and 50% for the POH'sCity water - individually meteredSeptic - good condition (allegedly); a couple were pumped last year, none this year (no lagoon thank heavens)Seller claims gross income $130k, expenses $30k, and NOI $100kI calculated gross income of ~$135k, expenses of $60k (55% on POH and 35% on lot rentals), and NOI of $75kOther infoMom & pop seller, but park is listed with a brokerPark has been on the market for > 3 years (recent price reduction)Greater metro area stats look goodPopulation = 115kMedian home price = $105kUnemployment < 8%Household income > $40kHousing vacancy ~ 15%Closest Walmart is 7 miles awayFreeway is 1.5 miles awayNumbersMy valuation is coming out about $80k-$100k under the seller's asking priceWith conventional financing I'd be hoping for a purchase price of $500k, $100k down @ 6% over 20 years (not sure if this is plausible or not)Assuming that financing, I'm expecting net cash flow of $40k (after debt service)Upside potential is in raising rent and filling the 18 vacant lotsFollowing the same assumptions above, raising rent $50 (if the market supports it) would change NOI to ~$90k and net cash flow of just over $50kFilling the vacant lots could potentially increase gross rent up to somewhere between $150k-$200k, depending on what the appropriate occupancy rate is for the areaWithout verifying any of the above information (haven't offered anything yet so there's a lot of DD left to do), the deal seems to make sense. 

Unknown cost on water/sewer/garbage, but I believe those charges are included in rent.