Originally posted by "MikeOH":If you own a lot of rentals or even a few over time, your numbers will trend toward the average.First, I absolutely agree that the 50% rule is a valuable tool for doing an initial assessment of a deal...But, that said, the statement above is just plain incorrect.Mike - You'd probably agree that across the hundreds of thousands of SFH investments across the U.S., the average purchase price for those properties is around market value for their location (in fact, you'd probably agree with this almost by definition).

Wheatie nailed it...For proper tax cuts, CPA can guide you all the way.For minimizing taxes every which way, your CPA may not help you (falsifying).Creative ways are...

The "too low" part is up to the bank to decide, not the agent who has no idea about loss severity and recovery numbers the bank is guided by.

Here's the announcement: https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/guides/ssg/annltrs/pdf/2008/0816.pd Here's the pertinent section: Establishing a new policy for preforeclosure [short] sales.

Cap rates are only a general guide line.

Here are a couple that I've found very valuable.

I don't really have a mentor type of person to guide me along, so I'm learning as much as I can.

i have seen nothing but wasted money from email lists. firstly, ESPs are becoming very stringent about spam, making the inbox a near impossible place to reach.secondly, email harvesters tend to use spammy practices that make your list of x,000 become more like x0 of actual valid email addressesthirdly, people on these lists by permission are rarely interested in the offer, and more about the incentives offered. and the ones that are on without their knowledge rarely respond to offers and are more likely to report you as SPAM and never use your services.if you are offering a valuable service, another approach would be to speak with landlord associations and try to arrange to be a speaker at one of their networking events, or to have your contact send your email to their members.

It’s a great place to learn more about investing and meet the people you want to meet.Here are a few recommendations to get started:Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investingFind and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meetSet up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsBP Podcasts: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/podcast/If you you would like to tag someone in the conversation on the forum, type @ followed by their name and then select that person.

As an new investor the information i receive from other investors such as yourselves is very valuable to me and others like me.