Hi, pre foreclosure in all of its permutations, before the bank sends Notice of Default (NOD) or efter which is state even county dependant but often starts a 4 week clock till the trustee auction are the 2nd most difficult deal scenario and IMHO only experienced investors should bother, the 1st most difficult deal scenario are bidding at the court house steps on lord only knows what is being auctioned off sometimes even 2nd mortgages, you need to do so much home work to attempt to reduce your risk at the court house steps...Pre foreclosure no one talks about these issues, always about the nice sounding stuff like "motivated seller" get a good deal etc etc both are usually not the case.- 95% of folks in pre or post NOD want to stay in their house, keep their house inspite of them 100% will loose the house at the auction. 

Was it included as a credit/debit on the HUD so it should have reduced your cash to close? 

Would encouraging longer stays realistically help reduce this, especially for a medium-sized cabin?

SO many more options and the reduced responsibilites and work loads are under valued until you deal with them.. lol Also when you factor in management fees it can be quite comparable in net proceeds, without the wear and tear on the property and furnishings. 

It’s gotten me seriously considering bringing an attorney in-house to handle evictions and other legal needs moving forward.I’m evaluating this from two angles:Cost Efficiency: With the expense as high as it is, having in-house counsel could potentially reduce costs over time.

Also with plans to reduce industrial "intensity" in and around residential areas. 

Some programs will do the full LTV that a long term rental would have and some lenders will reduce the LTV by 5%.

Is there a way to reduce the amount of hours so you have more time for other activities?

@Mordechai ChaimovitzGreat points made above along with what @Daniel C. said referencing @Tom Shallcross's post on another thread.The context and variables for each individual investor will vary but many people are comfortable with getting a 2-4 unit that will reduce their out of pocket expense compared to their previous rent with the intent to do rehab and raise rents over time.

There are some benefits to having an LLC on reduced liability, but there are more expenses.