I just finished reading Turner & Dorkin's "How to Invest in Real Estate".My biggest weakness right now is understanding how to evaluate offers that I see online (eg on loop net). I

Kind of like a frog in a slowly boiling pot, you don't realize how bad it is getting until it's too late.

Those are almost never a good idea.Pouring a pot of hot water down a kitchen drain every week or two does wonders for keeping them unclogged.

Basement:- Ikea Kitchen w/ laminate countertop- new standard doors/frames/hardware (lowest prices ones)- New Ikea washroom vanity/fixtures- convert existing shower to bathtub (standard)- stainless steel appliances (get lowest priced ones)- stackable white washer/dryer (get lowest priced ones)- pot lights in living/kitchen/hallway- standard light in bedrooms- enlarge livingroom window (to get permit)- new flooring - Luxury Vinyl planks- AC/furnace/Roofing - 16 yrs old (should I replace before refinance?

I stayed recently in a large daylight basement with a bedroom/bathroom and a bar sink with a coffee pot and a microwave.

After considering PITI, cap. expenditures, repairs, vacancy, we were shooting for $250/mo net, which is achievable, but based on our appraisal, we can take out alot more money and have a zero net. Is

@Uju Anyanwu I accepted a tenant with a drug possession (not pot) charge, dismissing it as something that happened years ago and now the tenant is a good citizen, but then (you guessed it) they got arrested again a few months into the 12-month lease they signed with me. 

My net is a bit large right now, I will work on choosing a neighborhood or two to focus on.

You could even sweeten the pot and pay them a couple thousand more to do the work.If the work is done prior to closing, this allows you to buy the home on a 3.5% FHA loan, but not have to deal with the extra paperwork and the longer turn time to close the loan that an FHA203K requires. 

- duplex/investment: 150k asking, 2x800 pot rent - 7 offers in 2 days.