Since you are doing nothing at the onset,  I would say at the very least you will be replacing a roof, hot water heaters, and probably furnaces (lets say $15000 total in cap ex and thats being generous).

From your original post and replies above, it sounds like you’re on the right track though: let your attorney flex some muscle with the seller/flipper/contractor, and continue to raise hell with the building department, city complaint line, or even local politicians and news outlets.

and keep building your risk muscles...

Yes, the Iowa property may cash flow $300.00 a month better at the onset but the values and returns are pretty flat long term.

, and I plan on setting one up in Santa Rosa in Feb (in addition to the monthly Oakland meetup), and in the San Jose area when I am staying in Santa Cruz in April.

Currently reading: "The Power of Focus: How to hit your business, personal and financial targets with confidence and certainty" by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Les Hewitt"How I turned $1,000 into $5 million in Real Estate" by William Nickerson "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" by Tom Venuto"The Power of Self-Confidence: Become unstoppable, irresistible, and unafraid in every area of your life" by Brian TracyI'm also in the middle of trying to rent 2 units in my 3-family, so I've been flipping through "Landlording" by Leigh Robinson and "Landlording on Autopilot" by Mike Butler for advice on screening tenants and lease agreements.

So while searching the 'net on setting up a solo 401k as well as information on what to do about the house I came across BP and signed up. 

@Joe BakerGood question.Following are the similarities and differences between the solo 401k and the self-directed IRA.The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k Similarities Both were created by congress for individuals to save for retirement;Both may be invested in alternative investments such as real estate, precious metals tax liens, promissory notes, private company shares, and stocks and mutual funds, to name a few;Both allow for Roth contributions;Both are subject to prohibited transaction rules;Both are subject to federal taxes at time of distribution;Both allow for checkbook control for placing alternative investments;Both may be invested in annuities;Both are protected from creditors;Both allow for nondeductible contributions;Both are prohibited from investing in assets listed under I.R.C. 408(m); andThe Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k DifferencesIn order to open a solo 401k, self-employment, whether on a part-time or full-time basis, is required;To open a self-directed IRA, self-employment income is not required;In order to gain IRA checkbook control over the self-directed IRA funds, a limited liability company (CHECKBOOK IRA LLC) must be utilized;The solo 401k allows for checkbook control from the onset;The solo 401k allows for personal loan known as a solo 401k loan;It is prohibited to borrow from your IRA;The Solo 401k may be invested in life insurance;The self-directed IRA may not be invested in life insurance;The solo 401k allow for high contribution amounts (for 2016; the solo 401k contribution limit is $53,000, whereas the self-directed IRA contribution limit is $5,500);The solo 401k business owner can serve as trustee of the solo 401k;The self-directed IRA participant/owner may not serve as trustee or custodian of her IRA; instead, a trust company or bank institution is required;When distributions commence from the solo 401k a mandatory 20% of federal taxes must be withheld from each distribution and submitted electronically to the IRS by the 15th of the month following the date of each distribution;Rollovers and/or transfers from IRAs or qualified plans (e.g., former employer 401k) to a solo 401k are not reported on Form 5498, but rather on Form 5500-EZ, but only if the air market value of the solo 401k exceeds $250K as of the end of the plan year (generally 12/31);When funds are rolled over or transferred from an IRA or 401k to a self-directed IRA, the amount deposited into the self-directed IRA is reported on Form 5498 by the receiving self-directed IRA custodian by May of the year following the rollover/transfer.Rollovers (provided the 60 day rollover window is satisfied) from an IRA to a Solo 401k or self-directed IRA are reported on lines 15a and 15b of Form 1040;Pre-tax IRA contributions on reported on line 32 of Form 1040;Pre-tax solo 401k contributions are reported on line 28 of Form 1040;Roth solo 401k funds are subject to RMDs;A Roth 401k may be transferred to a Roth IRA (Note that from a planning perspective, it may be advantageous to transfer Roth Solo 401k funds to a Roth IRA before turning age 70 ½ in order to escape the Roth RMD requirement applicable to Roth 401k contributions including Roth Solo 401k contributions and earnings.)

@Vann CalhouneGangsters with muscle behind them make money in D'class single family.

Now that I have 6-10 Gas utility accounts at any given time from rehabs or vacancy, I am trying to be more economical with the heat settings this winter.Turning the heat off is not an option on most because water in t...