One guy came in and bid probably $50k over everyone else, who sat there in a bit of shock and he won.Unless you can get inside the property and check it out, an auction isn't a good first property.

However we have sticker shock at the construction costs. 

The reality is the assessments are correct, but when you do the math based on the tax rate (which in most locales has also gone up) our property taxes on our properties is up an average of over 10%…I know some will say “fight the assessments” but honestly I think some of them may be low (and truth be told I would guess less than 5% if people contest assessments).I am curious, have others started to receive their assessments - and were you in sticker shock?

@Dylan HassThis is a great question and it is shocking to me this is not done more oftenWhat weird in real estate is I think peoples egos get in the way and want to try and do it alone.What type of partnership you looking for?

Wife is shocked and mad that she was lied to, that this "deal" was done years ago behind her back and the supposed property manager has allowed the house to severely deteriorate to less than half its value.So now what does wife do when she can't afford to hire a lawyer to straighten out the mess? 

I've seen a shocking number of PMI franchises for sale, which tells me quite a bit. 

@Rene DunnaganIf you're saying you've spent $25k just to "learn" and "set things up", without actually buying a property, I'm a little shocked.

Thanks for your input, comparing it this way reduces the the sticker shock of the 10.5% but it's still a tough to swallow.  

I can probably do 3 to 4 flips a year and replace my W2 income and cover Health insurance.Yes I know, I'm not looking for advice on the podcast, but others are and the advice in this one episode was shocking and scary. 

Like Emily said, a number of shocking facts (or not so shocking to many landlords) have come out in the press recently on how few Americans can come up with a thousand or even four hundred dollar in an emergency....A FINRA study on The Financial Fragility of Renters was just one (with lots of stats).So no downpayment is a big one, as is credit score, and even with those who have resources, they  may want the flexibility to move or freedom from extra work or costs of maintaining and repairing the home.Even items like student loan debt or fear about the economy hold others back (still some out there who feel the sting of the housing bust).