that we’ve learned in our 24 years, managing almost 700 doors across the Metro Detroit area, including almost 100 S8 leases:Class A Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 3-5 years for positive cashflow, but you get highest relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% the more recent norm.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 680+ (roughly 5% probability of default), zero evictions in last 7 years.Class B Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, decent amount of relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% should be applied only if proper research done to support.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 620-680 (around 10% probability of default), some blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 5 yearsClass C Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, high cashflow and at the lower end of relative rent & value appreciation.

Quote from @Melanie Baldridge: Why I like investing in real estate more than 401(k)s.Both offer tax deferrals, but here's the difference:If you're making pre-tax contributions to your 401(k), then withdrawals = ordinary income tax.With real estate gains, you're paying capital gains tax (which is typically lower).Plus, RE investors get:1.

Taking these two pieces of info will tell you how long you will take to get an offer, so if you go past that you should lower the price, and then the other action item would be to starting off lower than all the other properties if the condition is better than your condition.

They are asking $375K but not getting it - so not quite $20k underwater from asking but they're offers so far are around $350k and lower.

I can list a property for 120,000, get no offers, so they push me to lower it and lower it until the price is 100k, and then it sells for 97k - they will call that 97% of list price (even though it is 80% of original list price). 

Question: Should I collateralize the loan (if using private or hard money), or rely on roll-over loans (to maximize the lower points and 3-4% rate)?

My concern with declining values, increased inventory and a weaker economy would lower rental income and could potentially put me into a negative cash flow situation.

But that was probably only a handful of us.so I agree with you, the large education programs tend to be more expensive and tend to produce lower results.

Further, running a very quick and simple valuation based on $900 rents, 8% vacancy, 25% op exp margin, and a 9% cap rate, I'm coming up with an ARV of around $83k, so I'd pass if I were you unless you can get a much lower purchase price.

You could bring less down and possibly have a lower interest rate since you will be living there.